


Love Is Reckless

by OneMoreNight1996



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Accidental Marriage, F/M, Family Drama, Fluff and Angst, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones, Southside Serpent Toni Topaz, developing feelings, they're kinda hopeless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-01-12 02:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 39,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18436838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneMoreNight1996/pseuds/OneMoreNight1996
Summary: When Veronica insisted Betty should come with her and Archie on their vacation to Vegas she hadn't expected Jughead Jones to tag along, and she certainly hadn't expected to wake up with a ring on her finger and a new last name.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In this story Jughead went to Southside High meaning he and Betty never got that close and only know each other through Archie.

Betty was sitting in the airport watching Veronica and Archie bouncing around excitedly as they waited for their flight to board. Jughead had his head buried in a book so she had to endure it alone, she hadn't expected to see him when she was picked up by a car this morning but she figured Archie had invited him to an all expenses paid weekend provided by the Lodges the same way Veronica had invited her. She had protested at first but had been told in no uncertain terms that she was going or Veronica would drag her along kicking and screaming so she finally agreed. Veronica had insisted she needed to take a break and escape her parents for a while. It had been two years since she moved out of her parents house and into her own apartment but she still saw them everyday considering she worked for The Riverdale Register, which was owned by them and her mother never had particularly nice things to say and typically only doled out criticisms.

She heard the announcement telling them to board only seconds before Veronica practically ripped her arm off pulling her toward the boarding gate. She tripped over her own foot and stumbled behind her but Veronica just absentmindedly corrected her without even pausing in her forward movement. Archie threw her a sympathetic look as he trailed behind them with Jughead bringing up the rear of their group. As they approached the entrance of the plane Veronica handed the attendant their boarding passes before they were admitted. They each had first class seats and Veronica opted to sit next to her leaving Archie with Jughead.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Veronica exclaimed.

"You won't be thinking that when you slumped over a toilet after having a few too many." Betty commented and Veronica rolled her eyes and gave her a look.

"You need to lighten up B, this trip is meant to be fun. I know you're not one for partying but it's okay to let loose once in a while, be a little reckless." She said and Betty shrugged.

"I just don't want to have to explain anything to my mom. You know how she is and she stalks the social media of our entire friend group looking for anything she can use to talk down about all of us." Betty said and Veronica sighed and turned to face her.

"Okay, that's creepy but not the point, you're an adult now Betty and you can't keep letting her control your life." Veronica held up her hand with her pinky out. "Promise me that this week you'll have fun, that you'll forget about what she thinks for a little while."

Betty rolled her eyes but linked their pinkies with a grin on her face. "I promise."

They spent the rest of the plane ride alternating between watching movies and reading. When the plane landed they all grabbed their carry-on's and made their way down the aisle and she accidently brushed up against Jughead as she passed him and it made her extremely aware of how well he had filled out since she had seen last seen him over a year before. He stayed mostly on the southside and she only saw him when he was spending time with Archie, and it kind of startled her how attractive she found him and she found herself thinking that maybe Veronica was right and she needed to loosed up. It had been longer than she'd like to admit since she had any type of sexual encounter and it was making her brain go a little fuzzy if she looked at him for to long.

All thoughts left her mind when they stepped out into the oppressive heat of the desert sun and she could already feel the sweat rolling in the literal two seconds they'd been outside. She heard Jughead mutter a curse from behind her and she glared at Veronica.

"Couldn't we have picked a week that the sun wasn't absolutely boiling? I know you have amazing olive skin that's just going to tan more but I'm going to look like a lobster before the day is out, if I don't collapse on the street from this heat." She complained.

"Don't be so dramatic Betty, I'll rub you down with lotion when we get to the hotel." She said and Betty heard Archie snort with laughter beside her.

"Sounds kinky." He said and she turned to glare at him at the same time as Veronica slapped his arm hard. 

"I'll let you burn." Veronica said before turning to climb into the black car that had pulled up to the curb. The man driving got out and began loading their luggage and Betty joined Veronica with the boys and she turned to them as the car started moving. "Okay when we get to the hotel we'll check in before we go out to a club or something."

"A club V? It's barely two in the afternoon." Betty said and Veronica shrugged.

"Fine we'll go to a casino first, try our luck, then we'll go out and have a party." She said before she pulled out her Phone. "Now smile."

She made sure they were all in the frame before she snapped a picture and Betty saw her editing it quickly and slapping a filter on before she posted it to instagram and she sighed because she knew in that moment her mother was probably waiting for any of them to post so she could start snooping. Veronica turned to her with a smile.

"By the way, you and Jughead will be sharing a room." She said but after seeing the look on both their faces she quickly explained. "It's a suite with two bedrooms and a common area with a kitchen, I don't expect you two to sleep together."

Betty's cheeks flushed at the implication and double meaning of the sentence Veronica had said and refused to look at Jughead in that moment. Veronica rolled her eyes at the sudden tension in the car but refused to comment and by the time they got to the hotel everyone had somewhat recovered from the awkwardness. Veronica marched to the check in desk with her shoulders back like she was the most important person in the room and Betty sheepishly followed after her as the boys helped unload the car and bring everything in on the luggage cart. Veronica was quickly handed two sets of room keys and handed one set of the door cards to her and walked over to join the boys.

They made their way to the elevator with their cart and went up to the 10th floor. Veronica stopped them in front of one door and used her card to open it then pulled her and Archie's luggage off the cart before setting them inside by the door. She then proceeded down the hall to another door a few down from hers and Betty pulled her key card out and opened the door as Jughead pushed the cart in and Veronica followed them.

"Get changed and meet us in the lobby in ten." She said and Betty huffed.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" She asked. Veronica stared at her for a long moment making her feel self- conscious before she shrugged.

"Nothing Betty, it's just that you've been traveling in it all day and I thought you might want to change but if you're good we can go now." Veronica said.

"Don't you want to change." Archie asked. Veronica shrugged.

"If no one else is going to change, then I'll be fine in this for a while." She met Betty's eyes. "But before we go out tonight we are definitely changing."

With that the left the room again and quickly found themselves in one of the many casinos in the city. Betty noticed Jughead stood back from the action just observing but not partaking in the gambling while Veronica and Archie had thrown themselves thoroughly into it. She moved to stand next to him as they watched their friends play and he glanced sideways at her but didn't say anything so she stayed beside him just observing like he was. She quickly became bored so she spoke quietly to him.

"You don't want to play?" She asked. He looked at her before his eyes wandered back to the game table as he shook his head.

"Nah, it seems like something you could easily become addicted to, then when you win you get cocky and all your money goes to chasing the next high, the next win, and then you feel yourself compelled to keep going to win everything back, but in the end you wind up with nothing." He answered softly and she studied his face as his eyes followed the cards.

"Speaking from personal experience?" She asked. He turned to met her eyes and she saw the answer there. She didn't know his story but she knew he knew something about addiction, whether it was personal or not she wasn't sure but she wanted inexplicably to comfort him in that moment. Her eyes flickered back to Veronica and Archie for a moment before she made a decision and grabbed him by the arm to pull him away from the table. He gave her a confused look but followed her.

"Where are we going?" He asked. She gave him a small smile.

"You weren't enjoying yourself in there and this vacation is supposed to be fun. I thought we could do something you'd like, Veronica and Archie can call if they need us." She said as they stepped out onto the sidewalk. He gave her a slight smile as he looked down at her.

"What did you have in mind?" He asked. She smiled up at him.

"You still do photography right? I remember you were always carrying a camera around when you were hanging out with Archie." She said and he looked astonished that she had been paying enough attention to remember the camera he carried around his neck and she blushed lightly. He smiled at her as he nodded.

"Be my model?" He asked casually and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"I don't know about that. Why don't you take pictures of the skyline or something?" She mumbled looking at her feet. He touched her arm gently and she glanced up at him. He had a serious expression on his face.

"You are beautiful Betty Cooper, it would be an honor if you allowed me to shoot you." He said softly and she felt the blush returning as she met his eyes.

"Okay."


	2. Chapter 2

Betty and Jughead had made a quick stop at their hotel to grab his camera before they made their way to the Vegas strip and the Venetian hotel where they paid for a gondola ride and he took picture of her from seemingly every angle while giving her directions of how to hold her body. The gondola operator seemed to find it strange that they were having a photo shoot on the ride but he didn't comment and Betty figured he had probably seen thing that were much more strange than them. After the ride they wondered around and anytime Jughead saw something he found interesting he posed her in front of it and she admired his eye for creative shots, as he seemed able to find the most stunning backgrounds for her to stand in front of. As he was finishing up a few shots and elderly couple stopped beside him and he gave them a friendly smile.

"We can take a photo of you with your young lady if you would like." The old man said kindly. She saw Jughead go red and his eyes flicked toward her.

"She's not....we're not..." He spluttered and Betty hid her giggles before she moved over to pull him closed to her.

"Cm'on babe, it'll be great." She said teasingly and he gave her a look but she just grinned at him. She saw him roll his eyes but he had soft amusement on his face as he handed the camera to the old man.

"If you insist my love." He said with a wink as he threaded his arm through hers and pulled her back over to pose in front of the artful wall. She smiled up at him and he wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her close to him. The old man held the camera up and they both gave him big smiles. He took a few pictures and Jughead thanked him as he accepted the camera back and the man's wife smiled at them.

"Such an attractive couple, how long have you two been married?" She asked. Betty's eyes went wide and Jughead seemed to choke on his own spit as she shook her head.

"Oh no, we're not married." She explained. The woman studied them for a moment before she reached out and took Betty's hand.

"Big mistake, you two are meant to be. I've been alive for a long time, I can tell." She said before giving them both a smile as she walked away with her husband. Betty and Jughead shifted away from each other at the same time and Betty refused to look at him. There was an awkward silence between them until Betty's phone rang loudly from her bag, she pulled it out quickly and saw Veronica was trying to video call her. She quickly answered it and Veronica's face took up the screen and she seemed to be taking in Betty's surroundings that she could see on the screen.

"Where the hell are you?" She asked and Betty rolled her eyes.

"Jughead and I didn't feel like gambling so we thought we'd go sightseeing." She said and Veronica smirked.

"Jughead and you huh?" She asked and Betty rolled her eyes as she felt a presence behind her. Jughead's face joined hers on the screen as he spoke.

"Hello Veronica, did you need something?" He asked. Betty saw her eyes flick between them before she started speaking again.

"What ever you two are doing need to be cut quickly because I need Betty back to the hotel so she can help me pick an outfit for our night out." Veronica said and Betty knew that was code for gossiping because Veronica had a better fashion sense than Betty on any day but she sighed and nodded.

"We'll be back soon." She said before hanging up. She looked apologetically at Jughead. "Sorry to cut your photography short, I know their were other things you wanted to see."

"It's okay Betty. We've got a full week here, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to see it all." He said and she looked up at him.

"We?" She asked softly. He smiled down at her.

"Of course, you're my model, besides Archie and Veronica will probably spend the whole week doing things together so I've decided you're my travel companion, if you're up for it of course." He said and she grinned at him.

"Absolutely." She answered.

They got back to the hotel relatively quickly and Betty knocked on the door to Archie and Veronica's suite. They door quickly opened and Veronica shoved Archie out into the hallway while pulling Betty in and she told them to go 'do whatever boy do' while they got ready before she promptly closed the door in their faces. Betty let herself be pulled along to the bedroom where veronica had her suitcase opened on the bed. She started pulling things out and Betty helped her lay out the clothes into piles before Veronica started separating them into feasible outfits. Betty sat on the bed as Veronica tried on the outfits and paraded them out for her to judge but she was waiting for the onslaught of questions she knew was coming. The longer Veronica went without mentioning it put her on edge so she was completely shocked when Veronica pulled her off the bed and pushed an outfit into her hands before shoving her into the bathroom.

Betty changed into the outfit which happened to be a short backless black dress with a low neckline. She pulled on the heels that Veronica had sent in with her before she went back into the bedroom to stand in front of the mirror and Veronica came up behind her with a grin on her face that made Betty wary.

"You look stunning B, I'm sure Jughead will think so too." She said and Betty sighed.

"It's not like that V, he's a friend." She said.

"Yeah, a friend you want to ravish you." She said teasingly and Betty blushed.

"You're horrible." Betty said in exasperation but Veronica just laughed at her.

"Please, I have eyes and you find Mr. Broody totally yummy." Veronica said.

"He's Archie's best friend." Betty said and Veronica shrugged.

"So, haven't you heard the saying? What happens in Vegas...." She shrugged. "I say you take that bull by the horn and take him to bed."

"Veronica!" She exclaimed and Veronica laughed again.

"Where did you two go anyway? Archie and I turned around to look for you and you'd disappeared." She asked. Betty shrugged as she kicked off the shoes she had been wearing and turned to face Veronica as she pushed her toes into the soft carpet under her feet.

"He wasn't really into gambling so I told him we could go take pictures. He does photography, I don't know if you knew that, but that's where we went." Betty said and Veronica studied her.

"You like him?" She asked and Betty shrugged.

"He's nice." She said.

"Well, I approve." She said signalling the end of the discussion. "But you are still wearing that tonight."

"Fine, but I'm wearing converse with it." She said and Veronica huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine."

* * *

They ended up in a club with music pounding so loud it shook the walls and Veronica made a beeline for the bar and ordered a round of shots for them which they all downed quickly before ordering drinks. Betty sipped on her rum and coke as Veronica carried the entire conversation by herself with minimal input from the others at the table. She seemed to be rambling about a friend of hers who had recently gotten married and Betty picked up on the very unsubtle hints and she knew Jughead had too because he gave her a look before motioning to Archie with his head who seemed completely oblivious. She snorted in laughter as Veronica huffed and shoved him harshly causing him to tune back into the conversation.

"Did I miss something?" He asked and Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Betty's getting married." She said and Betty sucked her drink so quickly it caused her to choke and Archie's eyes snapped over to her.

"What! To who?" He asked and Veronica covered her face with her hands as she groaned.

"You'd know if you were listening." She said and Betty finally got her breathing stabilized after the coughing fit.

"I'm not getting married Arch." She said and he looked at Veronica confused and she blew out a loud breath.

"Forget it. Let's dance." She said and shoved him completely out of the booth. They disappeared into the crowd leaving Betty and Jughead alone in the booth. 

Betty turned to him and started a conversation about the photos they had taken earlier in the day and he told her how he was editing them and would let her see them when he was done. They got caught up talking about anything and everything that they barely noticed when Veronica and Archie rejoined them and paid even less attention to the amount of alcohol they were consuming so when Veronica got bored of their conversation and pulled Betty away from the table, the quick movement made the room spin for a moment before it righted itself and Betty knew she had drank way more than she thought.

Veronica pulled her on to the dance floor leaving the boys at the table and Betty just kind of swayed on the spot because she wasn't the best dancer but Veronica pulled at her arms and told her to loosed up and just move to the music, dance like no one is watching. She rolled her eyes but followed her advice and soon their bodies were moving in sync until Betty pulled Veronica back to the table where the boys had seemingly ordered them all new drinks. Archie raised an eyebrow at them.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to steal my girlfriend Cooper, dancing like that." He said teasingly and Betty grinned at him.

"I can't help it if she likes me better." She said slyly and Veronica laughed.

"I did kiss her first." She agreed. Archie rolled his eyes at both of them and Jughead seemed to be holding in a laugh as he watched them. Betty slid back into the booth beside him before Veronica whipped out her phone and snapped a picture of them. Betty rolled her eyes at her.

"Are you going to post that?" She asked and Veronica shrugged.

"But of course, I need to keep our friends updated on our lovely trip." She said.

"And my mother." Betty muttered with an eye roll. Veronica looked at her with a grin.

"Don't worry, I don't think you look visibly drunk, even though I know you definitely are." She said and Betty laughed.

"I'm not quite drunk yet V." She said and Veronica gave her a look before ordering two rounds of shots from a passing worker.

"If you're not drunk yet, you need to be. We're supposed to be having fun." She said.

"It's not going to be fun in the morning." She said and Veronica shrugged again.

"It'll be fun for tonight though." She turned to Jughead. "Speaking of fun, you're the only one who hasn't been on the dance floor yet."

"Oh, I don't dance." He said quickly and Veronica looked at Betty before grinning.

"Well you're going to tonight, Betty needs a partner." She said and Jughead looked over at her.

"You're not going to make me dance are you Cooper?" He asked with a small smile. Betty flicked her eyes to Veronica who was giving her an intense look before she shrugged and looked up at him from under her lashes.

"Please?" She asked innocently and he groaned.

"I'm gonna need more alcohol for this." He muttered and grabbed a shot from the recently delivered tray. They all took two shots each before Veronica pulled Archie out of the booth and Betty grabbed Jughead's hand to follow them.

They ended up in the middle of the crowd and Veronica immediately went into inappropriate grinding causing Betty to roll her eyes at Jughead causing him to laugh. She pulled him in by his hands and they moved with the music but the weren't touching each other nearly as much as their friends were. Betty loved them both a lot but the way they were moving together at the moment was certainly not for public consumption and she felt almost awkward just looking at them. Jughead pulled them slightly away as if he wanted to distance himself from the display and she grinned up at him as he shuffled sideways. She stopped his movement when they were a safe distance away from the couple and put her hands on his shoulders causing him to look down at her.

She gave him a soft smile as the music changed before she pulled him in again and started moving her hips in time with the music, it took him a moment to follow but soon they were dancing together. The music vibrated through the floor and up into her body, and even though they were in a crowd of people it felt oddly intimate with his hands wrapped around her waist and their bodies moving together. She looked up and met his eyes, the alcohol in her bloodstream making her feel emboldened as she pulled him down and pressed her lips to his. He seemed surprised at first but quickly picked up the rhythm and pulled her closer to his body as he deepened the kiss. She felt his tounge brush against her lip, asking for entrance which she granted. Her hands went into his hair as their tounges met and she felt heat rush through her body as she let out a soft sound. She felt his hand low on her back and she arched her body into his. 

Their heated kiss was brought to an abrupt end by the sound of her phone going off repeatedly. She pulled back from him with a groan as she opened her clutch and pulled out the offending item. His hands didn't leave her waist as she unlocked her phone to check the multiple incoming messages, most of which were apparently from her mother. She read the text messages and they all consisted of roughly the same thing, reprimanding her for drinking and looking sloppy with a few casual insults thrown in about the 'southside trash' she was hanging out with. She blew out a breath and rolled her eyes before putting the phone back into her purse without answering and she looked up to see Jughead looking at her with concern.

"Everything okay?" He asked and she gave him a small sad smile.

"Fine, it's just my mom complaining about my life choices. Nothing new." She said. He cupped her face gently.

"You wanna get out of here?" He asked before his eyes widened. "Not for sex or anything, I just meant you might want to take a break, deal with your mother."

She laughed before answering. "You're sweet, but if I call her right now it's just going to end in a fight. I'm not going to let her ruin my vacation, she can wait." 

"If you're sure." He held out his hand. "Care to dance some more my lady?"

She smiled and took his hand. They got back into a comfortable rhythm and Betty noticed they had drifted so that they were back to where they started right next to Veronica and Archie, who it seemed had noticed they were in public and were dancing a little more respectably. Veronica gave her a wink letting her know immediately that she had seen their make out session. Betty looked at her and thought back to what she had said on the plane, that she needed to let loose a little and that plus the massive amount of alcohol they had all consumed was the only excuse she had for what happened next. She looked up at Jughead to notice he was already looking at her.

"You want to do something reckless?" She asked and he gave he a big smile.

"Absolutely."

 


	3. Chapter 3

Betty woke with a massive headache and no recollection of the night before after the fifth shot that for some reason she thought was a great idea. She squeezed her eyes shut to avoid the early morning light she could tell was streaming through the window. She shifted to turn her face away and noticed immediately that she definitely wasn't alone in the bed and she cursed Veronica for ordering so much alcohol the night before. She shifted away from the man behind her and sat up slowly so the room wouldn't spin. She opened her eyes and turned to look her bed partner and saw that it was Jughead, and thought at least she hadn't ended up with a complete stranger. She felt sore in a lot of places and she knew they had definitely had sex the night before.

From the soreness between her legs she knew he had to be packing and she stretched her body trying to relieve some of the pain she felt in her muscles. Whatever happened last night must have been athletic at least. She scooted to the side of the bed trying not to wake him when a sudden sparkle caught her eye and she pulled her hand toward her when she saw the diamond sitting there reflecting the morning light innocently as if her entire world wasn't spinning on it's axis.

"Oh My God." She gasped before spinning around to look at Jughead. Her eyes landed on his left hand and sure enough, there on his ring finger sat a gold band. The night came back suddenly in flashes, her asking him to be reckless, the shots and mad dash to a twenty four hour chapel, rings purchased quickly from the clerk along with a marriage license, flashes of skin and breathless moans as they moved together. She was staring at the ring on her finger in disbelief before she exclaimed. "Holy Shit!"

Her loud exclaimation seemed to startle Jughead as he sat up suddenly and he groaned and grabbed his head before he seemed to register what woke him in the first place and he cracked his eyes open to meet hers. They stared at each other silently for a moment before she wrapped the sheet around her and stood from the bed to put distance between them as she tried to wrap her head around what had happened the night before. He was looking at her with concern and looked completely apologetic. He was the first to break the silence between them.

"Betty are you okay?" He slipped off the bed with the blanket covering him and took a step toward her. "I'm sorry if I did something you didn't want last night, to be honest I don't really remember what happened. It was sloppy and irresponsible of me to get so drunk."

"We were both drunk Jughead, it's okay." She said quietly before she met his eyes. "But we may have done something really stupid."

"What do you mean?" He asked cautiously. She held up her hand silently and he looked at it in confusion for a moment before he seemed to realize what she was trying to say and his eyes quickly flickered to his own hand and he looked stunned. She moved over to the bedside table where she noticed a piece of paper and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Forsythe Pendleton Jones III and Elizabeth Cooper at the top and their signatures at the bottom along with the clerk that performed the ceremony, but her eyes also caught on the witness signatures which were none other than Veronica Lodge and Arcibald Andrews. She felt Jughead come up behind her and he gently took it out of her hand and studied it. "Holy Fuck, we actually got married."

"There has to be a way out of this. No offense Jughead, but we barely know each other." She said and he sighed.

"I agree." He said as she turned to face him and became extremely aware that neither of them were dressed. She walked around him and left the room completely to drag her luggage into her room as it was still in it's place by the door. Jughead joined her and grabbed his own suitcase.

She claimed the room they had just left and sent him to the room on the other side of the suite. She quickly picked up the clothes strewn around the room and separated his into a pile as she shoved hers into the hamper next to the ensuite bathroom. She went into the bathroom and dropped the sheet to the floor before studying her body in the mirror, he had definitely left some marks. She noticed the hickey low on her neck where it met her shoulder and her hips were decorated with faint bruises as if he had held her tightly with his hands.

She ran her hand over them lightly before she shook herself out of the thoughts of him in bed, but the marks made her want to remember more than a few flashes. She almost wanted to take him back to bed sober just so she'd know but instead she quickly dressed in a pair of black shorts and a simple yellow tank top before pulling on her shoes. When she got back into the common living room he was waiting for her and she made sure to grab the marriage license before the left the room. She stopped at Veronica and Archie's door and started banging until Archie answered it looking groggy.

"What the hell Betty? Do you know what time it is?" He asked. She didn't answer and instead just shoved him out of the way and stomped into to the bedroom where she pulled the blankets off of Veronica and rolled her off the bed. She looked up at her angrily but Betty just stared at her with her hands on her hips.

"What!" Veronica exclaimed getting to her feet.

"You were supposed to stop me from doing something stupid!" She said shoving the paper into Veronica's hands who took it and looked at it in confusion for a moment before her eyes went wide.

"Holy Shit!" She exclaimed and Betty nodded.

"That was my reaction too." She said and Veronica seemed to regain sense when she stared at Betty.

"How is this my fault?" She asked.

"Okay first you were the one who told me to let loose and forget about my mother for the week and second, take a look at the witness signatures. You and Archie were there." She snapped and Veronica sighed.

"Okay, we may have all been a little bit drunk." She conceded and Betty scoffed.

"A little? We were wasted no doubt about it." She said.

"We can fix this, we just need to go back to the chapel and explain what happened." Veronica said and Betty nodded.

"Alright let's do that." She said.

"Right but first, I need something for this headache." She said and pulled out a bottle of pills. She took some out and handed them to Betty before taking her own then walking into the living room to pass them to the boys. Everyone was quite as they waited for the pills to take affect and Veronica ordered breakfast for all of them which was quickly delivered. As they sat at the table to eat Betty noticed Archie's eyes keep going to the ring on her finger that was sparkling in the sunlight and she gave him a look before moving her hand out of his line of sight. His eyes snapped up to hers and he grinned.

"When Veronica said you were getting married last night, you realize that was supposed to be a joke right Betts?" He asked. Betty glared at him.

"I will hurt you Archie." She growled and he laughed.

"Nah, I'm your best friend." He said.

"No Veronica's my best friend, you're collateral damage." She said. He put his hand to his heart and leaned back in his chair dramatically.

"I'm wounded." He exclaimed and she rolled her eyes at him. "Cm'on Betts let me have this, you're usually the most responsible person in our group, that makes this golden."

"I'm not kidding, I'll throw you out the window. It'll look like an accident." She said but a small smile was creeping on to her face and she knew he knew she wouldn't really do anything.

* * *

They arrived at the chapel an hour later and Veronica pulled them into the building. Right inside the doors sat a woman behind a glass wall and Veronica stopped in front of her and waited until she looked up before she slid the marriage license in the opening at the bottom of the glass window. The woman took it and looked it over before looking up at them.

"Is there a problem with the license?" She asked politely.

"Yes, you see my friends got drunk and stupidly decided to get married and we'd like to inform the clerk that we won't be needing the license anymore." She said and Betty elbowed her. She gave her a shrug and the woman looked at both of them and slid the paper back.

"That's not quite how it works, they paid the fee and went through with the ceremony. They even signed the license and had witnesses, the only way out now is to go to the courthouse and speak to the judge about a possible annulment." She said and Betty sighed.

"There's really nothing you can do?" She asked.

"Sorry." She said. Betty spun and dragged Veronica out with the boys trailing behind them. Veronica turned to her and shrugged.

"We'll just go to the courthouse, like she said." She said simply as she climbed back into the car that brought them here prompting all of them to follow her.

The ride to the courthouse only took five minutes and they all trailed behind Veronica again like ducklings. She was like a woman on a mission when she marched into the courthouse and demanded to see a judge. The security weren't impressed and made them got through security for what she was sure was an inordinately long time and she pulled Veronica back to prevent her from pissing anyone else off. She took the lead and politely requested a meeting with a judge and after informing them about the reason she needed to see someone was told to wait for the next available spot. 

She lead all of them over to the uncomfortable benches and sat. Jughead sat next to her and Archie pulled Veronica further down the hall to sit, which Betty thought was to prevent the workers from hearing her string of curse words and complaints about the service they received. 

"She's a bit intense isn't she?" He asked quietly. Betty laughed lightly.

"She's used to getting what she wants." She answered.

"Even when this technically has nothing to do with her?" He asked and Betty shrugged.

"She and I have been friends for a long time, sometimes she can go a little overboard if she thinks I'm in trouble." She said and he sighed before turning to face her.

"I am really sorry about this, I don't know what the hell this happened." He said and she laughed softly before meeting his eyes.

"I'm guessing it had something to do with the multiple tequila shots. Probably not our best idea." She said and he laughed with her.

"Probably not." He said.

They lapsed back into silence and about an hour later a woman came to get them. They followed her down a long hall and through a few doors before she led them into a big room with a Judges stand and more benches. It was empty save for the judge and the bailiff and they approached the pit and stood in front of him. Veronica and Archie sat on the benches further back and the judge took them in before he finally spoke.

"What brings you to my courtroom today?" He asked. Betty held up the marriage license and the Bailiff took it from her and brought it up to the Judge.

"We need to have this annulled." She said. He studied the paper before setting it on the desk in front of him.

"Why do you require an annulment?" He asked.

"Well we weren't exactly sober when we got married." Jughead informed him. He looked down at the and seemed the look through them.

"You have two witnesses on this license." He said and Betty nodded.

"Yes, your honor but they weren't sober either." She said.

"Are they friends of your or just people you met last night." He asked.

"They're friends, we've known each other a long time." Jughead answered.

"So they know you well and you all willingly went through with this marriage?" He asked and Betty sighed.

"Yes your honor but-" Betty started but he cut her off.

"I know, you weren't sober." He seemed to study them for a moment before he spoke. "People come through here all the time having gotten married when they're three sheets to the wind and honestly I'm kind of sick of it, you know each other, your friends signed the license, so I am not granting you an annulment. If you want out of this marriage you're going to have to file for divorce and go through court, maybe then you'll realize not to do things impulsively."

"But your honor-" Jughead tried to protest but the judge brought the gavel down.

"I've made my ruling. Case dismissed." He said. The Bailiff returned their license and they turned to leave. When they got outside they all stopped at the top of the steps and Betty looked down at the paper in her hand with a sigh.

Veronica was the first one to recover and she turned to face them before she pushed Jughead and Betty together and whipped out her phone. Betty glared at her until she lowered it and she shrugged.

"Look, the way I see it, you two are going to be stuck with each other for a while, divorces take time even civil ones, so in the mean time we should inform our friends of the development. After all I read over that document and you took his last name in the paperwork so it's not as if people aren't going to notice." She said.

"Did I really?" Betty asked.

"Yep." Veronica shrugged. "Now I can share the happy news now and let it blow over before we go home or we can wait and your mom can explode when you're within fallout distance."

Betty looked up at Jughead and he seemed to be studying her face before he shrugged. "It's whatever you want, I don't think any of my friends follow her so I can hold off until we get home but if this will help with your mother we can do it."

"Nothing will help with my mother but V's right, she might calm down a little before we're back in town if she has time to process it." She said. Veronica clapped and made them pose with the marriage license facing the camera and Betty's ring flashing prominently. 

Betty, Veronica and Archie were all suddenly bombarded with notifications only moments after Veronica had posted the photo. Betty silenced her phone and stared at the other two until they did the same before she dragged Jughead down the steps and away from them. She made sure they knew not to follow them before she hailed a taxi and had it drive them back to the hotel. Neither of them spoke until they were safely locked into their room and she turned to face him.

"We're in a bit of a mess." She said and flopped down on the couch.

"I really am sorry Betty." He said from his spot by the door. She looked at him and motioned him over. He came close and she pulled him down to sit beside her.

"This isn't your fault Jughead, we both made the decision to do it, albeit we were both wasted but still it was mutual. We both got ourselves into this." She said. He sighed.

"So divorce." He said casually.

"Divorce." She agreed. "We'll get a lawyer when we get back to Riverdale, I know Attorney McCoy pretty well, we can start with her."

"Okay." He said and they were quiet for a moment until she started laughing softly. He looked at her in confusion and she grinned at him.

"I can't believe I took your last name." She said. He laughed.

"I don't know, Elizabeth Jones is a good name." He said teasingly. "Much better that Forsythe Jones."

"I also can't believe that's actually your name." She said and he shoved her lightly.

"That's bullying." He informed her.

"Sorry, but you're stuck with me." She said. "For the foreseeable future anyway." 

"I don't mind being stuck with you." He said softly and their eyes met. They studied each other for a moment before Betty subconsciously moved toward him. He studied her face for a long moment before he moved to connect their lips and Betty decided she liked kissing him sober much more than when they were drunk. They pulled apart and she smiled at him before bringing him in for another kiss and she swung her leg over to his other side and settled on his lap as she deepened the kiss. His hands landed on her waist in the same way they had the night before in the club as he pulled her flush against him.

His hand was trailing up her thigh when the door suddenly sprung open and Betty pulled away from him suddenly as they both turned their heads to see Veronica and Archie standing in the doorway. Veronica had her mouth hanging open and Archie seemed to be looking anywhere but at them. Betty refused to move from her spot as she huffed and rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?" She asked. Veronica shook her head.

"Nothing!" She squeaked out and dragged Archie back out the way they had come. Betty threw her head back in annoyance to look at the ceiling before she felt Jughead's shoulders moving. She looked down to see him laughing and she rolled her eyes.

"They're impossible." She said with a grin.

"Yeah."

She sighed and climbed off of him as he looked up at her. "Okay, you said you wanted to see other things in the city before we go home. Let's not let our impromptu nuptials derail our holiday."

"Okay, let's go then." He said and took her hand as he stood. "Let's have a great adventure."

 


	4. Chapter 4

They spent the rest of the holiday exploring the city while Jughead snapped photos. They didn't get intimate with each other again instead their nights were spent on the sofa as she watched him edit the photos and she constantly had to remind herself that their marriage wasn't real because they were so comfortable with each other, it was almost like it was meant to be. Veronica and Archie had spent some time exploring with them and she hadn't missed the looks they threw at them when they got too close or when they got caught up in a conversation and ignored everyone around them. When they boarded the plane home Betty found herself feeling sad because she knew as soon as they landed that their bubble would burst and she'd go home to her apartment and he'd go back to his trailer and it would be almost like everything was normal apart from the ring on her finger that she couldn't bring herself to take off, but she noticed he hadn't removed his either and she felt a little better about it.

When they touched down in New York, she made sure to sit next to him in the car ride to Riverdale. He smiled softly at her before starting a conversation with Archie and Veronica eyed her knowingly, to which she promptly glared at her until she silently relented. The drive to Riverdale didn't take very long and soon they were stopped outside her apartment building. She climbed out and Jughead followed her to help her pull her suitcase out of the back. It didn't escape her notice that Archie and Veronica were clearly staring and eavesdropping from the open window and she rolled her eyes and pulled him further away so the couldn't hear as easily. He grinned down at her with a matching eye roll.

"Our friends are nosy." He said and she scoffed.

"They're obnoxious." She said and he laughed and shrugged lightly before he looked down at her seriously.

"We have a meeting with Attorney McCoy on Monday, but if you need anything you can come to the Whyte Wyrm, I'm usually there." He said and she looked at him in confusion.

"You're always at a bar? Is there something we need to talk about?" She asked. He shook his head and seemed to be trying to decide rather to say something before he blew out a breath.

"I technically own the bar." He said.

"I thought the bar was owned by the Southside Serpents." She said and he nodded with a strange look in his eyes.

"It is." He said and she studied him for a moment before it clicked in her mind.

"Oh." She exhaled softly. He cupped her face in his hands and made her look at him.

"We're not bad people Betty, It's all just stigma." He said quietly. She put her hands over his.

"It's not really my business Jug, but I would never judge you for something like this. So you're a Southside Serpent? I don't care, I know who you are. It's okay." She said softly. He studied her face as if he was trying to find the lie in her face before he leaned down and kissed her softly. He pulled away suddenly and she made a sound of protest, 

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kissed you." He said. She shook her head.

"It's okay." She said. He turned away from her and moved back toward the car but she reached out and caught his arm, keeping him in place. He looked back at her. "Thank you for being honest with me."

"I'll always be honest with you Betty." He said and she nodded as he gave her a gentle smile before climbing back in the car. 

After the car pulled away she dragged her suitcase up the stairs and unlocked her apartment. As she stepped in she found herself just staring at the room, they had only been gone a week but looking at her apartment now she felt as if she had been gone so much longer. Her life felt completely different than it had when she left and in someways she guessed it was. She shook herself out of the thoughts and continued on into the bedroom where she threw the suitcase on the bed and started unpacking. She separated her dirty clothes and put them in the washer before she started putting away the clean ones and putting all of her toiletries back in their place. It didn't take her long to have everything sorted and she found herself sitting on her couch staring at the wall.

It seemed strange to be alone, given that she had spent most of her time in Vegas with the others and she had shared her living space with Jughead. It was weird not hearing someone else moving around and she realized she had let herself become accustomed to having him around, which was a mistake because although they were legally married, it wasn't a real marriage. She blew out a breath and got up to clean the already spotless house just to have something to occupy her hands. She allowed her mind to become clear of thoughts as she scrubbed the counter and dusted the entire house. She was so caught up in her task that she startled when she heard a key in the lock. She spun to face the door at the exact moment her mother came strolling in. She threw the cleaning rag in the sink as she took in her mothers angry expression.

Betty moved further into the kitchen trying to avoid the impending blow out but her mother just followed her and stood with her hands on her hips. Betty wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of acknowledgement, so she started placing already clean dishes back into the dishwasher. She heard her mother slam her hand against the counter behind her and blew out a breath before turning to face her with an impassive look.

"Elizabeth Cooper how could you be so stupid? Marrying southside trash? No doubt you were drunk." She snapped and Betty rolled her eyes and pushed past her mother angrily as she moved toward the living room.

"Jughead isn't trash, he's a good guy. And by the way it's Jones now." She snapped back.

"What?" Her mother asked angrily.

"My name. It's Elizabeth Jones now, not Cooper." She informed her. Her mother glared at her.

"I am not going to call you that just because you went and stupidly married someone you'd never met." She said and Betty scoffed.

"He's not a stranger mom. I've met him before, he's Archie's best friend. It's not like I just met him in Vegas, we knew each other before that." She bit her lip before throwing out a lie she hoped stopped her mother from spitting out more insults. "And besides, Jughead and I were dating before we went to Vegas, why do you think Archie and Veronica invited us, it was a couples vacation."

"Why did you not tell me?" Her mother asked with her hands on her hips.

"Because of exactly the way you're acting. You called Jughead southside trash, when you've never even met him and know nothing about him. I knew you wouldn't approve so I kept it to myself. It's my life, mom. I'm not a little kid anymore, I'm a grown woman and you don't get to make decisions for me anymore. I may be your daughter and I may work for you but that doesn't give you a right over my life. I'm married to him whether you like it or not, so you either get with the program or you stay the hell away from me." She spat angrily before grabbing her keys from the side table and slamming the door behind her, closing her mother on the other side of it. 

She got in her car and started driving. At first she didn't know where she was going just that she wanted to get away from her mother but soon she was turning toward the southside of town and the one refuge she knew her mother would never follow her. As she stepped into the bar it was dark and smoke lingered in the air but she steadied herself and marched toward the bar so saw standing in the middle of the room. A beautiful dark skinned woman was standing behind the bar serving customers so Betty sat on a stool and waited for her to finish at the other end and acknowledge her. She wasn't sitting alone for long as she caught a flash of red hair before none other than Cheryl Blossom sat down next to her with a grin.

"Betty Cooper, never thought I'd see you here." She said and Betty stared at her open mouthed for a moment.

"Cheryl, what the hell are you doing here?" She asked.Cheryl grinned and motioned to the bartender as she answered.

"That beauty belongs to me, sometimes I accompany her." She said simply before turning back to her. "Now what brings you here? Looking for your husband?"

"How did you know about that?" She asked cautiously.

"Please, I follow Veronica obviously." She said with an eye roll. 

"Right, well that is what I'm here for. Do you know where he is?" She asked. Cheryl seemed about to answer when her eyes caught on something behind her. Betty turned at the same moment that Jughead seemed to realize who she was, as he started toward them and Betty stood to greet him.

"Betty what are you doing here? Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine, just need to talk to you is all." She said. He studied her face for a long moment before nodding and leading her back the way he came and she noticed a small hallway she hadn't seen, which is where he must have been. He pushed open the door labeled Manager, and led her inside. He leaned against the desk as he watched her fidget.

"Okay, let's talk."


	5. Chapter 5

Jughead was looking at her with concern in his eyes and she was rocking on her heals with her hands clasped in front of her, she bit her lip and looked up at him and took a deep breath before she started speaking.

"Okay so, I may have lied to my mother." She said softly and watched the confusion enter his face and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"About what?" He asked.

"Us." She said. She saw the tension in his shoulders and rushed to explain. "She was saying horrible things about me and about you and the southside, I just wanted her to stop so I told her that we were already in a relationship before we went to Vegas, that the marriage was impulsive but not because we were drunk."

"So, you told your mother our relationship was more serious than it is?" He asked.

"I'm sorry." She said looking down at her feet. She heard movement and snapped her eyes back up to look at him. He had moved away from where he was leaning on the desk and had taken a few steps closer to her, she instinctively took a step back as she hadn't expected him to be so close to her. She studied his face trying to gauge his emotions, see if he was angry about what she had told him but he seemed completely calm. He reached out to place his hands on her shoulders lightly and their eyes met.

"It's okay Betty, I don't care what other people think about our relationship, it has nothing to do with them but..." He cupped her face with his hand and her eyes drifted to his lips but they quickly flicked back to his when he continued speaking. "if your mother is a problem, maybe you should take a break from her."

"What do you mean?" Her voice was almost a whisper as she spoke. She was only half listening to him, preoccupied as she was by their close proximity and the scent wafting off him. She knew it had to be whatever cologne he was wearing but she found herself wanting to wrap the scent around her and keep it close for as long as she could.

"I mean, if you wanted, you could stay with me for a few days. She won't come looking for you on the southside and even if she did she doesn't know where I live, and no one here would tell her, so if you want a reprieve to collect your thoughts before facing her again I'm offering." He said and she saw some thought pass through his eyes but it was gone to quickly for her to determine what it was and he was back to calm eyes. She placed her hand over his on her face and smiled up at him softly.

"Thank you, I'd like that." She said. Her eyes fell back to his lips and she moved toward him, he followed her lead and she saw him move closer to her. She brought her hands up to his face and drew him closer, their lips touched in a soft tentative kiss and she sighed contentedly. He deepened the kiss by moving his hands from her face to her hips and pulling their bodies together until they were flush against each other. She made a soft sound at the sudden movement but quickly reciprocated by balling her hands into his shirt as she leaned back into the wall. One of his hands came back up to play in her hair and she bit bottom lip softly. Their make out session was brought to an abrupt end by the sound of the door opening and Jughead pulled back from her suddenly.

They both turned to look at the door and the woman Betty had observed tending bar was standing their wide wide eyes, she looked between them and her expression slowly became a smirk and Betty knew they must look utterly debauched and she found herself wondering, if she was this breathless just from him kissing her, what would it be like to have him in every way imaginable. He stepped back from her to turn and address the situation and Betty found herself missing the connection immediately. The flush on his face and the glassy look in his eyes let her know he was as affected as she was and she was glad that at least she wasn't the only one. The woman cleared her throat suddenly and she finally looked away from him to her still in the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt, just wanted to let you know I'm heading home. Fangs is on duty now." She said. Betty flushed when she glanced at her with the smirk still on her face.

"Thanks for letting me know Toni." He said in a tone clearly conveying that she could go now, she instead looked fully at Betty.

"You're Betty Cooper right?" She asked. Betty raised an eyebrow at the question but shrugged.

"I mean, it's technically Jones now, but yeah." She answered. She saw Jughead staring at her but didn't acknowledge his raised eyebrow.

"Right of course, the wedding, Cheryl told me about it. She talks about you sometimes." She stated. "Family isn't something she talks about a lot, but when she does I get the sense that you're the only one she actually likes."

"I'm not sure how to respond to that." Betty admitted and Toni smiled at her.

"It's a good thing." She said before turning back to Jughead. "Right, I'm gonna go, I'll see you later I guess."

She left closing the door behind her and leaving them alone once again. Betty glanced at Jughead and their eyes met, she took a deep breath and turned to him.

"Should we talk about this?" She asked.

"About what?" He asked but she could tell by his tone and the way he looked away from her that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"We had sex when we were so drunk we hardly remember it, and now it seems every time I see you we end up making out, should we have a conversation about that?" She said. He sighed and looked back to her. She could almost see the thoughts flying around his head but he just shrugged before answering her.

"We're friends who occasionally kiss, it doesn't need to be more than that." He said softly. Betty blew out a breath and looked down at her feet so he wouldn't see the flash of hurt across her face.

"But it is more than that, we're married." She said. She heard him shuffling around and glanced up to see he had turned to the desk with his back facing her.

"We won't be married forever, friends isn't a bad place to be." He said. She wished in that moment she could see his face because she heard a hint of something in his voice but she couldn't pinpoint what it was without an expression to go with it.

"I guess not." She agreed.The tension in his shoulders and his body posture screamed hurt and anger but when he turned back around to face her, his face was clear of any emotion remotely close to either, but was instead calm and steady and she wondered if this was the face he used with everyone so that they didn't have to let them in too far because his body language and face told two completely different stories and she found herself wanted to break his facade. She wanted him to let her in.

"So you and Cheryl, what's up with that? What did Toni mean by family?" He asked. Betty snapped herself out of her thoughts and smiled at him lightly.

"Cheryl's my cousin." She explained.

"Really?" He asked and she heard the genuine surprise in his voice causing her smile to turn into a full blown grin.

"Yeah, I was shocked when I found out too." She said.

"You two are just so different, I can hardly believe it." He said. She laughed lightly at the astonishment on his face.

"You seem to know her well." Betty said and Jughead shrugged.

"Toni and I are good friends, have been for a long time and where Toni goes Cheryl is sure to follow. I think she's a little obnoxious sometimes but Toni loves her and she loves Toni so, I can deal. She's not the worst person, she can just be full of herself but I've learned to ignore her when she's like that. She and Toni live together now." He explained.

"I knew she didn't live with the Blossoms anymore, it was kind of a big deal when she came out and her mom disowned her. She was a pain in my ass when we went to school together but I remember seeing her after that happened and I thought she was maybe one of the strongest people I knew. She didn't let her mother's disapproval bring her down and I admire that about her." Betty said honestly. Jughead studied her for a moment before he took her hand in his.

"Maybe you two have more in common than I thought, you're not letting your mother's disapproval bring you down either." He said. Betty shrugged lightly.

"In our family you're forced to grow a special kind of armor because the ones who are supposed to love you are the ones taking the most shots at you." She said sadly. He gave her a sad smile and she thought maybe he understood where she was coming from in the way people who share the same kind of trauma do.

"To shitty families." He said softly.

"To shitty families." She agreed. They were quiet for a long moment before he seemed to shake himself out of the melancholy that had descended upon the room and gave her a real smile.

"How about we go home." He said. She glanced at him.

"Home?" She asked and their eyes met, an understanding passing between them as he answered.

"Home." He said with assurance.


	6. Chapter 6

Betty had protested at first when Jughead had offered her his bed and told her he'd sleep on the pull-out but she was thankful he had insisted now because she got up earlier than him and it gave her an opportunity to study him while he was unaware of her presence, even though it kind of made her feel like a creep to stare at him in his sleep. He looked younger when he was sleeping, and with the tension he carried in his brow when he was awake smoothed out, he looked almost innocent. He snored softly with his face pressed into the pillow and she smiled to herself before she pulled her gaze away from him and started on making coffee. She had only been here for two days but she was already familiar with the placement of all the items in the kitchen, but to be fair the kitchen wasn't that big.

As the coffee maker started gurgling and spitting out brown liquid she pulled down two mugs and sat them on the counter. She was trying to be quite as to not wake him but she heard him moving in the other room and she glanced over the counter and her eyes caught on his form stretched out on the bed. His movement had shifted the blanket off of him and he was wearing thin pajama pants that were doing nothing to hide his obvious endowment. His arm was stretched above his head and his shirt was pulled up to reveal a sliver of skin, her eyes kept getting pulled back to the bulge in his pants so when a knock sounded at the door she startled and banged her knee hard against the counter. She cursed loudly and stumbled over to a chair and Jughead jumped from the bed obviously disoriented from having been woke up so suddenly. He seemed to make sense of the situation as his eyes snapped up to her. She had managed to sit and was now rubbing the rapidly growing bruise on her knee, he moved toward her like he was going to try and help but the knock sounded again so he detoured and pulled it open to reveal Cheryl who strode in like she had any right to be here so early in the morning. Betty glared up at her from her spot and Cheryl smirked.

"Morning Cousin." She said and Betty rolled her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here so early?" She asked.

"I live next door." She stated and Betty huffed.

"I know that, still doesn't explain why you're here." She said grumpily.

"I'm here to invite you to a soiree that I'm having for my darling niece and nephew." She said and Betty raised an eyebrow.

"You mean Juniper and Dagwood?" Betty asked.

"Of course Betty, I don't have any others." Cheryl said rolling her eyes. "And before you say no, they're your niece and nephew too."

"Fine." Betty sighed. "What's the party for anyway, it's not their birthday."

"Just to celebrate them, Toni's never met them so I may have gone a little overboard." Cheryl admitted.

"You thought her meeting them at a party was the best idea?" Betty asked in confusion.

"Less pressure." She shrugged. Betty studied her face for a long moment.

"Is Polly going to be there?" She asked.

"She's their mother Betty, of course she'll be there." She said and Betty sighed. Cheryl studied her face before she moved toward her and touched her arm lightly. "You can't avoid her forever, and she's not as bad as your mother, so there's that."

"I know." She said softly. She moved away from Cheryl toward the counter and poured the coffee into the mugs and grabbed a third one for Cheryl. Jughead deemed that the appropriate moment to enter the conversation as he took the mug from her outstretched hand.

"I thought you two were cousins." He sat as he sat at the table across from Cheryl as Betty leaned back against the counter.

"We are." She said in confusion. He looked between them as the thoughts crossed his face.

"But you share a niece and nephew." He stated and Cheryl snorted into her coffee and even Betty cracked a smile.

"Our family tree is complicated." Cheryl said. He looked back and forth between them as if he was trying to decode something before he seemed to shake the thoughts from his mind and he picked up his cup to sip at his coffee while observing them over the rim of his mug.

"Complicated. Got it." He said before he turned to Cheryl. "Am I expected to come to this thing?"

"Of course, you're Betty's husband." She said. Jughead glanced at her and she just gave him an expression of innocence with a raised eyebrow. He let his thoughts show in his eyes and the compassion she saw there let her know that he was only agreeing to go because she had seemed uncomfortable when Polly had been brought up. She let the gratitude she was feeling show in her eyes and he gave her a soft smile. They were brought out of it by Cheryl standing abruptly from the table and Betty's eyes snapped over to her. "Well I'm going to get out of here before you two start ripping each others clothes off."

"Cheryl!" She snapped in shock.

Cheryl just gave her a smirk and moved toward the door. She winked at her on the way out and Betty's entire face flamed, causing her to spin toward the sink to avoid his gaze as she heard the door close. The air around them was crackling with awkward tension and she cleared her throat and closed her eyes to gather her thoughts and let the blush fade from her face before she turned back to him. He seemed to be studying the table top with an intensity it certainly didn't warrant and she knew he felt the tension as much as she did. She cleared her throat again and he looked up at her as she took the recently vacated seat across from him. She picked at the edge of her cup as she met his eyes across the table and she gave him a small smile to let him know that everything was okay before she spoke.

"Listen, if I'm going to be staying here for a little while I need to go to my apartment and get a few things, namely clothes." She said. He nodded as he eyes dropped to the t-shirt encasing her that she had borrowed from him.

"Okay, do you need me to come with you?" He asked. She smiled as she shook her head.

"No, I can do it on my own, I just wanted to let you know where I'd be. Didn't want to just disappear." She said biting her lip subconsciously. She saw his eyes catch on the action before coming back up to hers and she knew he thought she hadn't noticed.

"Thanks for letting me know, but I'll be at the Wyrm for most of today." He stated and she felt disappointment run through her before he started speaking again. "Maybe you could drop by."

She heard the hesitant hope in his voice and she smiled at him. "I'd love that."

* * *

Betty was quickly packing some clothes into a box, she didn't want to be here to long in case her mother happened to come by and see her car parked out front and decided to throw some more insults at her. She had seen her mother at work obviously but she couldn't very well lecture her in front of the other employees, she had an image to portray. She had refused to acknowledge the marriage publicly but Betty got a perverse pleasure at the look on her mom's face when she had changed her name in the byline of her latest article. They were at an impasse neither of them willing to back down.

She shook off the thoughts of her mother and moved toward the bathroom to grab her things from inside. She took a small bag and shoved her lotions and face wash into it before she went back to her room and dropped the bag into the top of the box. She grabbed an extra pillow off her bed before picking up the box and going back down to her car. As she was driving back toward the southside she caught the sparkle on her finger, neither of them had removed the rings despite agreeing that the marriage was not real. She wasn't sure of his reasoning for keeping the ring on but she couldn't bring herself to remove hers. Despite the circumstances, they were legally married and it felt wrong to her to take it off. At least that's what she told herself.

She pushed the thoughts out of her mind before she pulled into Pop's parking lot, the neon sign shining like a beacon, and she figured she could bring at least bring lunch to Jughead when she visited him. Pop Tate greeted her with a smile and a congratulations and she thanked him before ordering two burgers with fries and two milkshakes, one vanilla and one strawberry. She sat on the stool and observed the diner as she waited for her order to be ready. She remembered being little and coming in here with her dad and Polly, getting orange freezes and fries and she remembered high school sharing milkshakes and burgers with Veronica and Archie, sometimes Jughead would tag along. She spent half her childhood in this place and she found herself thinking about bringing her own children here. In her fantasies they were dark haired little kids with piercing blue eyes.

She shook the thoughts from her mind as soon as it conjured the image of children that were a mix of her and Jughead and she forcefully reminded herself that their relationship wasn't real, that their marriage wasn't going anywhere. As she left Pop's with the food in her hand she couldn't shake the thought of those children and a small thought started taking shape at the back of her mind, she wanted that more than anything. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

It was early in the morning when Jughead and Betty stepped into the office of Attorney McCoy who greeted them with a smile and an offer of coffee before settling behind her desk and opening her legal pad. She held her pen poised to write as she looked up at them.

"So I understand you're here to discuss a divorce." She stated and Betty nodded.

"That's correct." She answered.

"Divorce sounds like such a harsh word." Jughead said beside her and she threw him a look of confusion but Attorney McCoy's eyes snapped to him and she studied both of them with pursed lips.

"I thought this was a mutual decision." She said and Betty rolled her eyes.

"It is, he's just a little dramatic in the mornings." She said. Jughead grinned at her before he turned to Attorney McCoy.

"I only meant that it was a harsh word pertaining to our relationship considering our marriage wasn't entered into because we loved each other like most peoples are, this is just more of a separation of two people who didn't mean to get married in the first place." He said and Attorney McCoy sat the pen down on her desk as she glanced at both of them.

"What does that mean? That you didn't mean to get married?" She asked. Betty looked at her confused.

"I thought I mentioned the situation when I called for this appointment. We got married in Vegas when we were too drunk to be making coherent decisions." She said simply.

"Why didn't you seek out an annulment, you have grounds for it." She asked.

"We did but the Judge wasn't in the best mood that day and refused the annulment so here we are." Jughead said.

"Right, okay. Let's get the process started then, keep in mind that divorces can take up to a few months to be finalized, even civil ones." She stated as she picked her pen back up off the table.

"We know, we just want this handled quietly and discreetly." Betty said.

"I understand." She said before she looked back up at them as she finished writing her notes. "Now, Betty you have an apartment and a car in your name which you had before the marriage and Jughead has a trailer and a truck and motorcycle in his name, is there anything you have purchased together since you got married?"

"No, we haven't been married that long." Betty said.

"Well, any money you make from now until your divorce is final is considered joint property so we could split that and instate an alimony if you chose to do so." She said and Betty shook her head.

"No, I don't want an alimony." She said. Attorney McCoy studied her for a moment.

"Are you sure, because once I write that down it can't be changed." She said.

"I'm positive, I don't want his money." She said.

"Alright." She said as she wrote a few things down before setting the pen down on the paper and looking up at them. "This is one of the simpler divorces I've handled, you have no joint property and no children and your both in agreement about the divorce so it shouldn't take long before it finalizes and you can go back to your lives as if it never happened."

"I don't think it'll be as simple as that but thank you." Betty said and stood. Attorney McCoy shook both of their hands and they left the office. As they stepped out into the summer sunshine she saw Jughead looking at her out of the corner of her eye. He had a look on his face that she couldn't determine as he stared at her but when she turned to get a better look at his face he had schooled it into an expression of nonchalance. She raised an eyebrow at him and he moved toward her and picked up a piece of her hair between his fingers.

"You look like you have a halo when the sun hits you." He said softly and she looked at him in surprise. "My own personal angel."

"Those are big shoes to fill." She breathed out. He moved closer to her and she leaned back against the truck that had brought them there.

"I have faith in you." He said softly ans he pressed her back against the side of the ruck with his own body. She looked up at him and their eyes met, he had a soft look in his eyes as he looked down at her.

"I'm not an angel, I have flaws." She said breaking eye contact and looking down at her hands resting gently against his chest. His hand came up to cup her face and make her look back at him and his eyes had gone serious.

"All of the best people do." He said and she moved to connect their lips. He made a soft sound in his throat as his hand entwined in her hair. The kiss only lasted for a few moments before he pulled away and took a step back from her. She watched the conflict in his eyes and sighed as she turned and pulled the door open to climb in the truck. She heard a soft curse from behind her before he moved to the other side and climbed in to start the drive back to the southside.

Neither of them spoke on the ride back to his trailer and Betty sighed when they pulled in and saw people setting up tents in the backyard of the trailer next to Jughead's. She climbed out of the truck and went inside quickly, she really wasn't in the party mood but she knew if she tried to skip Cheryl show up to drag her out so she began getting ready. Jughead knocked on the frame of the door she had left open just as she was pulling her shirt off. She raised an eyebrow as she turned to dig through her clothes in the box she had brought form her apartment but she didn't miss the way his eyes roamed her body when he thought she wasn't looking. She ignored him as she shoved the shorts down her legs and pulled the dress she had dug out over her head. He moved toward her and pulled the zipper up her back and she felt him caress the skin lightly as he did. She turned to face him and he gave her an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, I just think it's best if we keep this as clean as possible. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." He said.

"You didn't." She said nonchalantly as she turned away from him but her heart protested his words silently. She studied him in the mirror where he couldn't see her and he seemed conflicted but determined in his resolve to keep their relationship as platonic as possible.

"Okay, good." He said as he moved toward the door and she steeled her expression to not give away her true feelings as she spun to look at him.

"Does this mean you want me to stop kissing you?" She said teasingly. He studied her before he smiled slightly but she noticed it didn't reach his eyes as they were still occupied by conflict.

"Now I didn't say that, you can kiss me all you want just....no feelings." He said.

"Got it." She said but her heart was saying something entirely different. It was saying ' _why not?_ ', it was saying ' _trust me_ ', but more than all of that it was screaming ' _give us a_ _chance'_.

* * *

The party was in full swing by the time they walked across the yard and entered the trailer. Betty stopped and observed Cheryl standing in her kitchen surrounded by a group of men and women in Serpent jackets. Toni was sitting on the counter next to her and she was laughing at something that one of the men must have said. It struck Betty that she was glowing with happiness and she didn't think she had ever seen the other girl like this in all the years she had known her. She craved to feel what Cheryl did in that moment surrounded by people she had made into a family. 

She realized in that moment that she had stopped in the doorway because Jughead touched her shoulder lightly and she registered his look of concern before she heard her name being called and she moved toward Cheryl who was waving her over. Jughead followed close behind her and greeted the group and she noticed a subtle shift in the air, it took her a moment to realize what it was, but she noticed that the people in the group treated Jughead with respect, like he was important. It was then she realized that they hadn't really spoken about his status as a Serpent other than an acknowledgement of the fact that he was one.

Cheryl pulled her out of her thoughts quickly when she started introducing her around and she caught the names of the group and raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on the strangeness of them. Then she spun her quickly to face Toni who gave her an amused look.

"And this is the light of my life Toni Topaz." Cheryl said with a flourish. Toni laughed quietly.

"I told you babe, we've already met." She said. Cheryl rolled her eyes.

"You having a brief encounter while she had her tongue down Jughead's throat does not constitute as meeting." She said and Betty flushed bright red and she heard Jughead shuffle his feet behind her. Toni smirked at both of them.

"It's nice to meet you officially Betty." She said and Betty suspected it was only to appease Cheryl who smiled at both of them. Betty was about to reply before she heard an inhuman like shriek and she spun just in time for Juniper and Dagwood to slam into her legs and wrap their arms around her. She stumbled slightly due to the force of their impact and Jughead reached out to steady her before she smiled down at the twins.

"Well hello." She said in amusement. They grinned up at her and she reached down to run her hands through their hair, as fiery red as Cheryl's was. They moved back from her legs as she kneeled down next to them. "Where's your mommy?"

"She's talking to people, so we came to play." Juniper said.

"We missed you Auntie Betty." Dagwood said and she smiled at them.

"I missed you too, very much." She said and reached out to tickle them causing an explosion of giggles to burst out of them. She glanced up at Jughead when she felt him move closer to her and Juniper followed her gaze.

"Who is he?" She asked. Betty reached up for his hand and pulled him down next to her.

"This is Jughead." She said and Dagwood giggled.

"That's a funny name." He said. Jughead chuckled as he looked at them.

"Trust me the real one's worse." He said. Juniper and Dagwood studied him as if they were trying to determine if he was lying.

"Well what's your real one?" Juniper asked. Jughead shook his head.

"Nope not telling, you'll tease me about it for the rest of my life." He said. Her head swung to Betty.

"Auntie Betty, do you know his real name?" She asked and Betty smirked at him. He gave her a look of warning but it was tinged with amusement.

"Yes, I do." She said.

"Tell us!" They shouted in unison. Betty laughed softly as she looked at him giving her wide eyes and shaking his head and the twins giggled along with her.

"Promise to keep it a secret?" She asked.

"Yes!" Dagwood said. Betty turned to Jughead with amusement in her eyes and he moved toward her suddenly and clamped his hand around her mouth.

"That's enough for today." He said and she licked his palm. He jerked away suddenly as she laughed.

"His name is Forsythe." She said quickly and he tackled her to the floor as they giggled. She grinned up at him and he rolled his eyes as Juniper tilted her head to look at them.

"Is that really your name?" She asked through giggles.

"Unfortunately." He said with a grin. Betty laughed.

"I like it." Betty said and he looked down at her with an unimpressed face.

"You're lying." He said. She grinned up at him.

"Maybe, Maybe not." She said. He moved off of her and pulled her back up into a sitting position and she became extremely aware that they were not alone and everyone was looking at them with expressions of amusement before Cheryl moved forward and stared down at them with her hands on her hips.

"There are children present, if you want to rub against each other there is a perfectly good trailer a few feet away." She said with a smirk. Betty rolled her eyes as she stood up.

"Oh don't pretend you wouldn't come barging in if we left right now." She said.

"Fair point." She conceded. "Then again, there are some things I just don't need to see in this lifetime."

"Whatever." Betty said and Cheryl laughed before dragging her out of the kitchen and into the backyard. Her eyes found Polly immediately, her blonde hair shining like a beacon. 

Betty glared at Cheryl knowing the exact reason she had led her out here in the first place. She gave her a look and shoved her toward Polly.

"Remember she's your sister, you can't avoid her for the rest of your lives." She said and Betty sighed and squared her shoulders as she stepped toward her.

Polly turned when she saw her coming and Betty took a deep breath as she moved to hug her. Polly pulled her over to a table situated in the middle of the yard and sat down. Betty studied her sister as they moved and she looked good, healthy at least and she seemed happy despite the shit the world had thrown at her. Polly took her hand and  smiled at her.

"I heard you got married." She said and studied the ring that was sparkling in the sunlight.

"I did, he's inside if you want to meet him later." She said. They lapsed into silence again and Betty sighed as Polly shifted next to her, biting her lip as she looked at her.

"I don't want things to be awkward between us Betty." She said and Betty pulled her hand away as she turned to face her.

"You should have thought about that before you took off in the middle of the night with no word." She snapped. Polly sighed and moved to take her hand again but she jerked it back out of reach.

"I couldn't stay in this town Betty, everything reminded me of him." She said. 

"I get that Polly, but you could have said something." She said. "I didn't know if you were okay, or where you were. You could have been dead and I wouldn't have known." 

"You know mom and dad would never have let me go." Polly said quietly.

"You still could have said something to me, I wouldn't have told them. I get why you cut them out of your life, but you did the same to me." Betty said quietly.

"I didn't want to burden you with the secret of where I was, I didn't want to make you hide it around them." She said.

"Bullshit. You knew I wouldn't have said anything, you chose to burn your bridges with me. That's what you do when things get hard Polly, you run." She said as she stood to walk away. Polly grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving.

"I'm sorry Betty, I never meant to hurt you." She said softly. Betty swung back around to face her.

"I spent months scouring the internet, setting up alerts anytime someone fitting your description turned up dead, waiting for the worst. I was constantly on edge, I couldn't sleep or eat because I was so worried about you. While you were out there finding yourself or whatever the hell you were doing, I was sitting at home praying that my sister was okay. You left and didn't even send a fucking email to let me know that you were okay. Sorry isn't enough." She hissed angrily before jerking her arm away and making her way back inside. 

Cheryl looked at her as she came back in but the look on her face must have said just how well it went because she gave her a sympathetic look and she noticed Jughead break away from the group to move toward her with concern on his face but she gave him a slight shake of her head and he stopped in his advancement but kept the concerned look. She took a deep breath and schooled her expression into a happy one before she moved toward the twins. She may have problems with her sister but she loved her niece and nephew more than anything and she was going to spend all the time she could with them before her sister whisked them off to the next thing that caught her fancy.


	8. Chapter 8

Betty was laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, after she had ducked put of the party when it started winding down and Polly had shown up in Cheryl's living room to whisk the twins away. If you had asked fifteen year old Betty she would have told you that her family would never be like this, splintered apart and broken, but she had been a naive child who had no idea that the world could be such a cruel place. Her father had left when Polly had gotten pregnant and hadn't come back, her mother was a controlling tyrant and Polly had disappeared with no word. She wasn't a child anymore and she knew that life didn't always go the way you planned but she still wished she could go back to the time when she was certain of how her life would turn out, if only for a moment.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the door opening in the other room but she didn't move because she knew from the sound of his shuffling feet that it was Jughead coming back. she heard his steps stop at the door into the bedroom and she saw him standing with his hands clasped like he was debating entering the room and she sighed and spoke without sitting up.

"You can stop lurking and come in." She said and she heard him take a deep breath as he stepped into the room and sat on the bed next to her. She glanced over at him and sat up so she could see him properly.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. You seemed upset at the party." He said gently and she gave him a sad smile.

"I'm okay, just family stuff." She answered. He reached out to take her hand and hold it between his as he met her eyes.

"You know you can talk to me right?" He asked. She took in the look on his face, soft and understanding and she nodded.

"It's just my sister, we don't have the best relationship." She started and he scooted closer and gave her and encouraging smile. She sighed before she started speaking again. "When she found out she was pregnant, she told our parents and they weren't happy about it so she left, but when she left, she did it in the middle of the night with no note and no goodbye. I understand why she didn't tell our parents but she didn't tell me and that's what hurt the most. She and I told each other everything, but she cut me out when she left and she never explained why."

Betty sniffled and pressed her eyes together to keep the tears from escaping and Jughead pulled her into and embrace. She wrapped her arms around him and he ran his hands through her hair in a comforting gesture. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before she moved back form him and he touched her face lightly.

"Can I give you some advice?" He asked softly and she nodded. "Okay, so when I was a kid my mom took off with my little sister and we lost contact for years, I didn't know where she was or how she was, but when she turned eighteen a couple of months ago, she called me. It's not the same thing because she didn't leave voluntarily like Polly did but we're trying to rebuild our relationship, one day at a time. My advice is let it go, whatever feelings you have let them go and hear her out. If you can repair your relationship, maybe it wouldn't be so bad, maybe you can get back to the place you were, maybe not, but you'll never know if you don't at least try."

She stared at him for a long moment before she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "You can be really wise sometimes."

He looked at her and his emotions shone through his eyes happiness and admiration, she smiled and bounced off the bed before pulling him through the trailer and into the living room before going to the freezer and pulling out a pint of ice cream and grabbing two spoons. Jughead was looking at her with a soft smile when she sat on the couch next to him and flipped on the TV.

"Enough with the heavy, lets eat ice cream and criticize people's choices on The Bachelor." She said and he laughed.

"Sounds like fun." He said and she grinned up at him.

"I thought so." She answered before cracking open the ice cream and handing him a spoon. They spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch watching trash television and booing at the screen when they didn't agree.

* * *

Before they knew it a few weeks had passed and Betty was still living with Jughead, and was spending more time with the Serpents. She had learned that Jughead had been their leader since his father had retired and they all respected him for making the Serpents safer but also weren't afraid to tease him mercilessly. He acted like he hated it but she could see the happiness and how comfortable he was around them and she thought that this was his found family and maybe it could be hers too. The seemed to like her well enough after they realized that she wasn't going to judge them just because she was from the north side. 

She had begun spending time getting to know each of them and had learned that Toni loved photography and already had plans to do a shoot with her, which she was a little trepidatious about because Toni had mentioned ropes being involved but she had already promised and wasn't going to back out. She had learned that Fangs was an absolute sweetheart and happened to be dating an old friend of hers, Kevin Keller, which had surprised her considering he was the sheriff's son but Fangs informed her that he didn't know about his status as a member of the Serpents. He always left his jacket at home when he visited and kept his tattoo covered when he was around Mr. Keller. At first she thought that Sweet Pea hated her but she had since learned that he was just slow to warm up to people but now they worked on cars and motorcycles together when they had free time, which led her to the situation she was in now.

She and Sweet Pea were in the garage at the edge of the southside under the hood of a car that belonged to one of the older Serpents. Her hands were covered in oil and she was leaning over to watch Sweet Pea as he worked, handing him tools as needed. She hadn't been able to reach but with his gigantic arms he could and she was a bit put out that she couldn't just fix it herself and he knew that because he kept smirking when he saw her pouting. She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed as he finished and she moved away to sit on the couch in the corner of the room. He joined her after closing the hood and she gave him a glare.

"Oh cm'on I'll let you fix the next one. We'll get you a step stool." He said and she hit him on the arm as he laughed. She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the couch.

"So do you get paid for this?" She asked.

"Yeah, the Serpents are thankful to have someone who doesn't charge them out the ass anytime they need something small fixed." He said and Betty smirked at him.

"Maybe you should be paying me, I am helping you after all." She said and Sweet Pea looked at her with wide eyes.

"I can pay you! You're right, you've been helping." He said quickly and Betty laughed as she shook her head.

"I was kidding. I don't mind helping." She said and looked over at the car they'd spent the afternoon working on. "Reminds me of my dad, he's the one who taught me to fix cars in the first place."

"He dead?" Sweet Pea asked as he moved to grab two sodas out of the fridge for them.

"No." she answered as she accepted the drink. "But he might as well be for all he cares about me."

"I get that, I'm no stranger to the shitty dad thing." He said. They sat in silence for a few minutes just sipping at their sodas before Sweet Pea looked at her.

"You're good for him you know." He said and she looked at him with confusion on her face.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Jughead." He said. "We grew up together and he was always in his own head, coming up with stories. He was one of the smartest people I knew, so when he joined the Serpents at sixteen, I was honestly surprised. I thought out of all of us he would be the one to escape this town but something changed, he's an amazing leader and he always has been but when he joined, I think he gave up on college or a life outside of this. I guess he thought he couldn't have both so he settled, but when he's with you, I see a little of that boy creeping back in." 

"I'm not going to be his salvation and make him realize his dreams of getting out of this town. I don't even think he wants that." She said quickly.

"That's not what I'm saying. It's just, you're this perfect northside princess and he let you in, he let you be apart of this world. I just think that maybe you can show him that he doesn't have to chose between the southside and the life he used to dream of, he can have them both with you." Sweet Pea said and she studied him for a long moment.

"I'm not sure how you want me to react to that." She said.

"I don't need a reaction, just something I've been thinking about. He's a good friend and I'm glad he has you, that's all." He said before his eyes started roaming her face and the smirk made a reemergence. She glared at him.

"What?" She asked and he snorted.

"You have oil all over your face." He said and she rolled her eyes and grabbed a rag off the table in front of them. She began running it over her face as she kept the glare on his face.

"You couldn't have told me that before?" She snapped and he laughed again and plucked the rag out of her hand.

"You're making it worse." He said before he grabbed her chin with his hand and tilted her face to the side as he scrubbed at her skin with the rag. She tried to pull away and he held her more firmly so she smacked his hand.

"That hurts! You're not exfoliating me." She said and he rolled his eyes and continued rubbing her face.

"Don't be such a baby." He said and she huffed. She heard a tool clattered and looked over to see Jughead had tripped over a wrench she had left on the ground but managed to right himself by catching on the trunk of the car. When he looked up at them she saw his eyes flicker between them and it was then she became aware of how close they were sitting and she smacked his hand off her face and stood. She was sure she saw anger flash through Jughead's eyes as Sweet Pea stood behind her before he schooled his face into a polite mask and she sighed before sucking in a deep breath and planting a smile on her face.

"Juggie! I didn't know you were coming by, I thought you had a meeting at the Wyrm for most of the day." She said cheerfully.

"The meeting finished early and Cheryl insisted on going to the swimming hole today so I thought I'd pick you up and take you home to get ready." He said but his eyes kept landing behind her on Sweet Pea and she heard him shifting uncomfortably.

"That sounds great, just let me wash my hands first and then we can get going." She said and she crossed the garage and entered the small bathroom located at the side of it. She washed her hands free of oil and grease as quickly as she could and swung the door open. The boys were in the same position she had left them but Jughead looked angry and Sweet Pea wasn't far behind. She rolled her eyes and bounced over to Jughead pulling him out of the garage throwing an apologetic look at Sweet Pea as she went.

When they got outside she put her hands on her hips and glared at Jughead. "What the hell was that?"

"What?" He asked but he wouldn't meet her eyes and anger laced the word.

"You and Sweet Pea. You were looking at him like you wanted to hit him and I wasn't in the bathroom long enough for him to make you angry, so what is it?" She asked. His eyes snapped up to hers and she flinched from the amount of anger displayed.

"You letting him touch you like that sends a certain message, and it makes me look weak like I can't control my own wife." He snapped and her eyebrow rose as she scoffed.

"Control me? I'm not a fucking dog!" She hissed angrily. He met her glare with one of his own.

"Could you at least not sleep with any of the serpents when you're supposed to be married to me?" He said and she stepped away from him.

"If you're talking about Sweet Pea, he's my friend, and whatever you think you saw wasn't anything like that." She snapped. "And I'm not a slut, second of all. I've never given you a reason to think I wouldn't be faithful to you. Just because you can't process your emotions and instead decide to lash out at people, it doesn't make me the bad guy here. I'll just get a ride from him."

She spun and started back toward the garage but Jughead caught her hand and pulled her back. She jerked her hand away but didn't leave as he stepped toward her.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Just let me give you a ride, I promise not to mention it again." He said softly and she crossed her arms and glared at him. He looked sincere and she sighed.

"Fine, I'll ride with you, but don't think we're done talking about this." She said as she climbed on the back of the bike. "And you're going to apologize to Sweet Pea, he's your friend  and he cares about you and you basically just said he wasn't a real friend."

 


	9. Chapter 9

Betty stormed into the trailer with Jughead right behind her and she spun to glare at him, stopping him in his tracks as they stood on opposite sides of the kitchen. He took in her posture and the angry look on her face and his shoulders dropped as he sighed.

"Do we have to talk about this right now?" He asked and she scoffed.

"I told you we weren't done talking about it so yes, we do need to talk about it right now." She snapped.

"Look I'm sorry, I'll apologize to Sweet Pea. I had no right to speak to you like that." He said rubbing the back of his neck and adjusting the beanie on his head.

"You were jealous, and you acted like a dick." She said crossing her arms and his eyes snapped up to hers.

"I wasn't jealous, it just looks bad if their leader's wife is presumed to be flirting with lower members." He said and she rolled her eyes.

"Right, if that's what you want to tell yourself, fine." She said and started to turn toward the hallway. 

"Betty...." His voice was soft and she could hear the regret lacing the word. She turned back to face him and sighed.

"You've known Sweet Pea your entire life, if you think he'd do anything like that then you don't really know him at all." She said before biting her lip and meeting his eyes. "And if you think I would do something like that then you obviously haven't been paying attention."

She spun on her heal and left the room before he could respond and she closed the door to the bedroom as a sign that she didn't want him to follow her. She quickly changed into a navy blue bikini that had ties each hip and behind her neck. She pulled a flowy cover-up over it and slipped on sandals that could easily be removed. She grabbed a tote bag and tucked a few towels and some sunscreen into it before she pulled the door open and made her way back to the living room. Jughead was sitting on the couch when she entered but he was quickly up on his feet and he moved toward her.

"Cheryl's waiting." She said as she stepped around him and she heard him sigh behind her but her grabbed the keys to the truck and followed her out the door. They drive was tense and quiet but thankfully short, and when Jughead pulled the truck into the field next to the swimming hole there were already a few bikes and other cars. Betty jumped out of the truck and walked toward the gathering at the edge of the water where Cheryl was reclining in a beach chair, her cherry red bikini matching her fiery hair and complementing her pale skin.

Toni was seated next to her in a dark olive green bathing suit. Betty took the empty chair next to her and noticed Jughead standing a little ways away speaking to Fangs, but his eyes kept drifting to her so she chose to ignore him for the moment. She pulled out the sunscreen and started rubbing it into her legs before she pulled off the cover-up and stuffed it into the bag as she continued applying it to her body. Cheryl helped her put it on her shoulders and back before she put it up and turned to them. Cheryl raised and eyebrow and nodded to Jughead.

"He seems grumpy about something." She said. Betty shrugged as they both looked at her.

"We had a disagreement is all." She told them. Toni and Cheryl shared a look before they both leaned closer to her.

"About what?" Toni asked. Betty rolled her eyes at both of them as they were obviously eager for gossip.

"It's nothing really, we'll work it out." She said.

"We won't tell anyone Betty." Cheryl said and she raised an eyebrow at both of them.

"Cross our hearts. We're not going to spread gossip about your relationship, us girls need to stick together." Toni said. Betty studied their faces for a long moment before nodding to herself.

"He doesn't like how much time Sweet Pea and I are spending together. Says it sends a bad message." She said and Cheryl scoffed while Toni rolled her eyes.

"He's jealous, obviously." Toni said.

"I told him that and he denied it." She said.

"Of course he did, boys hate to admit they're jealous because it means they actually care." Cheryl said. Betty glanced back over to Jughead and to her surprise Sweet Pea was standing next to him and they seemed to be speaking casually as if Jughead didn't just act like an ass. When she turned back to look at Cheryl and Toni they seemed to be observing them too before Toni looked over at her.

"I guess objectively speaking Sweet Pea is attractive, I kind of get why Jughead's jealous. I don't think either of you would do something like that but jealousy isn't always logical." She said and Betty shrugged.

"I guess." She said. 

They went quiet when the boys turned and looked at them and Cheryl spun her head away as if she hadn't been staring at them and Betty rolled her eyes at her utter lack of subtlety. Toni grinned as she shared a look with her and they both cracked up leaving Cheryl glaring at her with a pout on her lips. Toni moved to kiss her lightly.

"Aw babe, don't pout. We promise not to laugh at you anymore." She said and Betty snorted resulting in Toni's elbow making contact with her rib cage. She scooted her chair away slightly out of reach while grinning at them both.

"Sorry, I'll stop." She said. Toni gave her a look and she shrugged. "Who wants to go swimming?"

"And mess up my hair?" Cheryl asked smoothing her hair down. Betty rolled her eyes and pulled her up out of her chair.

"Why come to a swimming hole if you're not going to swim?" She said dragging her along to the edge of the water with Toni trailing behind her.

"Sunbathing?" It came out as a question and Betty scoffed.

"You're one of the palest people I've ever met, I don't think sunbathing is going to help unless you want to share a shade with a lobster." She said. Cheryl rolled her eyes but didn't comment on Betty assessment of the situation and Toni was laughing silently behind her shoulder where she couldn't see her. Betty stepped backwards into the water bringing Cheryl with her and soon they were treading water in the center of the swimming hole. Cheryl's hair was so long that the ends of it were floating in the water like a dark red halo around her body, but she didn't seem to mind so much now that she was actually in the water. 

They floated there for a few peaceful minutes until Fangs came out of nowhere and launched himself into the water creating a giant splash that soaked them and left them sputtering as water dripped down their faces. Cheryl spun in the water and grabbed him as he was laughing before shoving him back under the water. Toni grabbed her and made her let him back up while Betty laughed at the look of murder on her face. Fangs popped back out of the water with a smug look on his face but made sure to stay out of her reach. 

"I will murder you!" Cheryl shouted and Fangs laughed.

"You have to catch me first." He said before swimming away and she growled before following him. Toni rolled her eyes as she turned to Betty.

"They love each other really." She said and Betty snorted.

"Clearly." She said and they laughed. Cheryl was still chasing Fangs around when Sweet Pea and Jughead joined them and Betty found herself distracted by Jughead's bare upper body. He had obviously already dipped his body into the water because there were droplets sliding down his body. She was mesmerized by it and found herself wanting to move over to him and lick them off his body, which was not an appropriate thought to be having in the company of other people but she couldn't stop herself. She was suddenly splashed with a face full of water and she spun to glare at Toni who was smirking at her with a raised eyebrow before glancing over at Jughead and back to her quickly. Her face flushed in embarrassment of being caught having pervy thoughts, so she ducked under the water and swam quickly toward Toni and grabbed her ankle to pull her under. They resurfaced at the same time with Toni sputtering.

Cheryl and Fangs rejoined the group looking as if they had tried to drown one another and Fangs grinned at all of them before making a massive wave with his arm throwing water at all of them prompting an all out splash war. It went on for a long time with people ducking out until it left Sweet Pea and Fangs in the middle both refusing to give up resulting in Jughead being forced to wade back in and call a truce between them. They swam around for a few hours before climbing out and building a fire in the pit next to the water hole. Betty wrapped herself in a towel and dragged her chair next to it to dry off, while Toni and Cheryl sat on the other side sharing a blanket. Sweet Pea and Fangs had gone to get more firewood before night fell as the sky was already beginning to darken, leaving Jughead standing awkwardly next to the fire. She saw him glancing at her and sighed as she looked up to meet his eyes.

"Can we talk?" He asked quietly. She glanced aver at Cheryl and Toni who were doing their best to pretend they weren't listening. She stood and motioned for him to follow her a little way away form the fire and out of earshot.He shuffled his feet and rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at her. "You were right."

"About what?" She asked raising and eyebrow at him. He sighed.

"I was jealous, and I acted like a dick." He said before cupping her face in his hands. "I'm so sorry for speaking to you that way, I know that you'd never do that, I trust you."

"I'm glad that you do." She said softly meeting his eyes. "Sweet Pea and I were talking about you before you came in, did you know that? He says I'm good for you."

"You are good for me Betty, but I'm not sure I'm good for you." He said earnestly and she put her hand over his.

"Isn't that for me to decide?" She asked. He sighed as he looked down at her.

"Let's not talk about that right now, I just wanted to apologize and ask if you'd let me make it up to you." He said. She sighed but dropped the subject as he didn't seem to want to talk about their obvious feelings for one another.

"Make it up to me how?" She asked. He smiled down at her.

"I was thinking I could take you for a picnic tomorrow." He said. She gave him a soft smile.

"I'd like that." She answered. He pulled her in and kissed her softly on the forehead before wrapping his arms around her. She returned the embrace taking in his scent, there was a lingering scent of his soap against his skin mixed with river water and nature. This place and these people were beginning to represent home for her and she was terrified that she was going to lose it all because they couldn't acknowledge how they felt about each other, but she knew the feeling that had been building and growing in her heart was very close to love.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning Betty woke early and moved into the kitchen quietly making sure not to wake Jughead as she started cutting fruit and packing it into tupperware containers before placing them into the picnic basket she had found in the bottom of the closet. He woke up when she was halfway through making sandwiches and joined her at the counter to pack the beverages and she gave him a soft smile as they moved around each other quietly. He left the kitchen for a moment returning with a patchwork blanket which he folded and placed on top of the basket before moving it to the end of the counter and making each of them a bowl of cereal. Betty joined him at the table and they ate quietly until he looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You know you didn't have to pack the basket yourself, I would've helped." He said. She shrugged and stirred her cereal around the bowl with her spoon.

"I don't mind." She said before smiling at him. They lapsed back into silence as they finished breakfast and he put their dishes into the sink before grabbing the basket and blanket. She got dressed while he loaded it into the truck then waited for him in the kitchen while he got ready, and they were finally on their way. She locked the door with the extra key that he had given her when she came to stay with him weeks ago and as she climbed into the truck he started it but didn't move and she looked at him in confusion.

"I really am sorry about everything." He said quietly. She touched his arm lightly and met his eyes.

"I know Jug, it's okay." She said gently. He nodded and they kept the gaze for a few more seconds before he broke it and pulled the truck out of the driveway and started down the road. She wasn't sure where they were going but she didn't mind a little mystery so she just watched to trees as they passed outside the windows and enjoyed the soft music playing from the radio. About thirty minutes into the drive Jughead turned down a small dirt road and they began driving into the woods. He parked in a small grassy area and climbed out of the truck prompting her to follow and he grabbed the basket and blanket before turning to smile at her.

"I hope you don't mind a small walk." He said and she shook her head as she took the blanket from him to carry it and followed him down a small, almost hidden trail. The walk only took a few minutes but it was uphill and she was a little out of breath when they reached the top, but when she took in the clearing they ended up at she didn't mind. It was covered in bright yellow flowers and she could see the town through the trees. Jughead took the blanket from her and began spreading it out as she moved toward the other edge of the clearing and looked out onto the town she had grown up in. Jughead came up behind her after a few minutes and his hand landed on her lower back as they looked out together.

"It looks so beautiful from up here." She said quietly. He hmm'ed next to her.

"Yeah, I know. Too bad we both know the truth about it." He said just as quietly and she looked over at him. He wasn't looking at her but she could see the pain and sadness running through his eyes

"What do you mean?" She asked and he turned his head to meet her eyes.

"The town looks beautiful from far away, but we've both seen the shadows underneath that facade. The beauty hides the truth, the fact that this town breeds liars and murderers and every other bad thing. And most of all it hides the darkest truth, that this town is impossible to escape, no matter how far you run, it'll always drag you back." He said and she moved to face him.

"Have you ever thought of leaving?" She asked. He met her eyes.

"Have you?" He asked. They studied each other for a long moment before Betty turned away from him and back to the view of their town.

"I thought about leaving once but I couldn't." She answered truthfully.

"Why?" He asked. She shrugged still avoiding his gaze.

"Even if this town is all of that, it's also where I grew up, where I grew into the person I am now, and that means something to me. Even if some of the darkest things happened here, it's home, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else." She said. They were quite for a long moment just taking in what had been said before he spoke beside her.

"I thought about leaving too, going to college, but I never quite made it out of this town." He said.

"What happened?" She asked softly glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. He shrugged.

"Life." He said.

"Why did you join the serpents? Sweet Pea told me that everyone was surprised when you did." She asked.

"I was sixteen when I joined, it felt like I had no choice so I just gave in." He said.

"No choice? Did your dad make you join, I know he's a serpent too." She asked gently turning to look at him. He kept his gaze on the town below him and she figured it was easier for him to be open with her if he didn't have to actually meet her eyes. "My dad actually didn't want me to join, told me to get out of this town and never look back, but when you grow up on the southside things are different. My dad wanted to go to college but his father forced him to join the serpents, so he never wanted me to have any part of it. He wanted a better life for me than the one he got, but I went to school with Toni and Fangs and Sweet Pea and they all joined younger than I did, it seemed the natural progression of things in our side of the town, but what really pushed me was the looks that I got when I was seen on the northside." He finally turned to look at her. "When I'd go to hang out with Archie, people would look at me as if they were waiting for me to commit a crime or start a fight. They didn't know anything about me except for the fact that I was from the southside and that was enough for them to shun me so I figured if they were going to treat me like a pest, that I needed something to use against them. I needed armor against their looks and words, so I joined the serpents and gave them a reason for the looks."

"You still could've left and gone to college. I get needing something to protect yourself around here but you could have left this town, gone somewhere no one knew your name, started over." She said while looking into his eyes.

"By the time college applications became an important thing the serpents had become family, I didn't want to just walk out on them. I know I could have left but it didn't feel right, I was already changing things in the Serpents back then, making them better and I needed to see it through." He said. She studied him fro a long moment.

"Do you regret it? Staying?" She asked and he glanced back out over the town before meeting her eyes again.

"Sometimes."

He walked away from her and moved to lay on the blanket he had spread out earlier, looking at the sky. Betty took one last look at the town before joining him, neither of them spoke for a long time, instead the laid together and watched the clouds gently float by in the sky. They spent almost an hour doing just that before she rolled onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow and stared at him. He ignored her for a few minutes before a gentle smile crossed his face and he rolled over to face her. They were looking at each other for a few minutes but neither of them spoke until she smiled at him.

"Did you bring your camera?" She asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" He asked playfully. She sat up fully and motioned to the clearing around them.

"It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining and we're in a literal field of flowers, I thought it might make for a great photo shoot." She said casually as she grinned at him. He rolled his eyes but the smile on his face belied his exasperation. He reached over and unsnapped the lid of the picnic basket sitting next to the edge of the blanket.

"If you insist, my lady." He said and she laughed.

"As if that's not exactly why you brought the camera in the first place."

"Touche."

* * *

They spent a few hours taking pictures and making small talk, both consiously avoiding heavy topics after their earlier discussion, before lunch time rolled around and they laid out the food they had brought and ate it while sitting together. 

"You know I think Archie will propose soon." Jughead said and Betty glanced at him as she popped a strawberry in her mouth.

"Why do you say that?" She asked and he shrugged lightly.

"Have you seen them together? He and Veronica are head over heals for each other, everyone knows they'll get married eventually. I've noticed him looking at her strangely when he doesn't think anyone is watching, he looks at her as if she's his entire world. He'll propose." Jughead sounded confident in his theory.

"I know he loves her a lot, but Archie's kind of oblivious sometimes. My bet is that Veronica's going to get tired of waiting and pop the question herself before he has the chance." She said. Jughead seemed to think about it for a moment before he turned to her with a grin.

"Okay, maybe you have a point." He said and she nodded satisfied with his agreement.

"I always thought they'd get married before me." She said and their eyes met before his gaze fell to the rings they were both still wearing.

"Fate had other plans I guess." He said softly and she looked at him.

"I guess." She said and they lapsed into a contemplative silence for a long moment before he began packing up the left over food that they weren't eating and her eyes snapped to him. "Are we leaving?"

"We've been here most of the day and there was something else I wanted to show you today." He explained and she stood and l watched as he refolded the blanket.

"A surprise adventure?" She asked and he grinned at her.

"I guess you could call it that." He said before leading her back toward the truck.

As he was driving toward their next destination she tried to pry information out of him but he stayed tight lipped so she eventually gave up and leaned back against the seat with her arms crossed and a pout on her lips which just caused him to chuckle and she huffed. She noticed very quickly that they were leaving Riverdale completely but she knew at this point that asking questions would get her nowhere so she just watched their surroundings passing by.

The drive took the better part of an hour before he took a turn into a small road and drove down it to the very end which lead them to a small waterfall. When she joined him in front of the truck he took her hand and pulled her over to the edge where their was a small trail down to the pool of water underneath the waterfall and branched off halfway down, leading behind the waterfall. He pulled her over the trail and into the cavern behind the waterfall and she carefully moved toward it and put her hand out letting the water rush over it 

"This is amazing." She said and he smiled.

"I thought you'd like it." He said and joined her at the edge. They were having to shout over the sound of the rushing water but it seemed extremely intimate standing here with him, like they were in their own world cut off from everyone else. "I come here when I need to think about things, it calms me."

"I love it." She said meeting his eyes. 

"I'm glad." He said before he stepped closer to her and cupped her face before he kissed her softly. She was quick to return the kiss and her hands landed on his wrists and she made a soft contented sound that got lost in the sound of rushing water. The kiss only lasted for a few moments but when he pulled back they were both smiling so she counted it as a win. 

They sat in the cavern behind the waterfall for a while until she began shivering and he glanced over at her before shrugging off his jacket and placing it around her shoulders. She put her arms through and snuggled into it, the scent of his cologne still clinging to it. He pulled her to her feet and began leading her back out onto the trail and she tugged his hand lightly causing him to look at her.

"Can we come back sometime?" She asked. He smiled and touched her face lightly.

"Anytime you want." He said.

As they walked back to the truck Betty noticed that it was starting to get dark out and she realized that they must have sat behind the waterfall for longer than she thought. When they made it back she noticed him looking at her with a strange expression on his face and she gave him a look snapping him out of whatever he had been thinking as their eyes met.

"What?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Nothing, just......the jacket looks good on you, is all." He said softly and she smiled. As they climbed back into the truck and began the ride back home she could feel a subtle shift in their relationship and she wasn't sure exactly what that meant at the moment but she wanted so badly to make him see that they could work together, if only he'd give them the chance.  

 


	11. Chapter 11

Betty arrived back at the trailer late in the afternoon after an exhausting day of dealing with her mother at work to find Jughead in the kitchen reading a book at the table. He glanced up when she came in and gave her a smile which she returned before moving toward the bedroom to place her bag down on the floor. She quickly returned to the kitchen and sat down across form him with her head propped on her hands and he raised an eyebrow at her from behind the book.

"What are you doing tonight?" She asked casually. He placed the book down on the table and folded his hands over the top of it.

"Why?" He asked playfully and she sighed.

"My mother has been pestering me all day, she wants to meet you and she's invited us over for dinner. You don't have to go if you don't want to, I can make up an excuse but she's not going to just give up fair warning." She said quietly and he leaned forward resting his arms against the table.

"It's okay Betty, we'll go." He said and her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"You're serious?" She asked and he grinned at her.

"Okay, your tone tells me I should be worried about going." He said and Betty rolled her eyes.

"My mom can be a bit intense and she's probably going to say some offensive things about the southside, I just wasn't sure you'd want to put yourself through that." She said honestly and he reached across the table to take her hand.

"I can handle it. Her opinion doesn't matter to me, but from what you told me about her if we endure this dinner then she'll back off for a while and you won't have to deal with her pestering you so much. I don't mind dealing with her for one night if it'll make things better for you." He said softly and she smiled as she squeezed his hand.

"Thank you. It means a lot." She said just as softly. He leaned over the table and kissed her on the forehead gently before pulling away and standing.

"I suppose we should get ready then." He said and she nodded as she stood and followed him into the bedroom. His clothes were all still stored in the closet and drawers considering that it was actually his bedroom that she was borrowing for an extended period. Her clothes were hanging next to his and if she wasn't aware of their situation she'd say that it was very much like a married couples closet would look.

She pulled out a simple white dress with a tappered waist that fell to her knees and picked out a pair of white flats to go with it. She moved into the bathroom to change quickly and when she came back to the nedroom to place her clothes into the hamper Jughead had change into dress pants and a button up shirt and was fastening his tie in the mirror. She came up behind him and rested her hand on his shoulder, he glanced over at her and she smiled and reached out to straighten his tie.

"You look nice." she said softly and he shrugged lightly.

"Gotta make a good impression, she already hates me." He said and Betty laughed softly as she rolled her eyes.

"Don't take it personally, she hates most people." She assured him before taking his hand and pulling him back out to living room where he grabbed his keys and they started out the door. She pulled it closed behind them and locked it with her key before following him to the truck and climbing in. He pulled out and began the drive to the northside which didn't take as long as she wanted and she took a deep breath and steadied her mind before she lead him up the peth to the door of her childhood home. 

Her knock was answered quickly as if her mother had been waiting just behind the door for them to arrive. Betty took his hand and stepped over the threshold of the house, her mother greeted her before turning to Jughead and greeting him politely but Betty could hear the animosity behind her facade and was sure that Jughead could too. She rubbed her thumb over his knuckles in comfort and pulled him toward the dining room before following her mother's command to set the table. Jughead helped her and she thanked him quietly before her mother brought in the food she had prepared and sat it on the table. Jughead offered to help her but she refused and asked them both to sit while she got everything ready.

When her mother finally sat at the head of the table they served themselves and the only sound in the room was the clinking of silverware. The silence was weighted as they were all waiting for someone to break it and speak, Betty knew it would be her mother and was proven correct when she placed her fork down next to her plate and looked at Betty.

"So Elizabeth, have you moved to the southside then?" She asked and Betty glanced over at Jughead quickly before meeting her mother's eyes.

"Kind of, why do you ask?" She asked. Her mother looked at Jughead before she shrugged.

"No one's been at your apartment in weeks, I just thought that if you were going to move to the southside that you'd have listed it for sale already, but you haven't." She said and Betty sighed.

:Jughead and I are both working, we do alright for money. I figured it wasn't a priority, it can wait." She said. Her mother looked fully at Jughead then.

"And what do you do for work Mr. Jones?" She asked condescendingly. Betty gave him an apologetic look as her mother wasn't looking at her.

"I own and mange the Whyte Wyrm on the southside." He said casually and her mother whipped her head around to stare at her.

"You married a Serpent!?" She exclaimed and Betty sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, mother, I did. It isn't a big deal, they're good people." She said. Her mother scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Right." She snapped and Betty took a deep breath to calm herself as the table lapsed into silence once again. She glanced at Jughead and he gave her a reassuring smile which cause her to return the smile. Her mother was glancing between them as if she was trying to work out their relationship but Betty chose to ignore her prying eyes ans she reached across the table and took his hand and squeezed it. He brought her hand up to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of it and the mischievous look in his eyes told her he was doing it because he could tell her mother disapproved and she grinned. 

Her mother cleared her throat pointedly and Betty pulled her hand out of his and brought it back to her side of the table before turning to look at her mother who had her arms crossed. She raised an eyebrow at her and shrugged

"What?" She asked. Her mother rolled her eyes and sat up stick straight as she looked at her.

"How are you doing Elizabeth?" She asked and Betty narrowed her eyes at her. She was up to something, Betty was sure of it.

"I'm fine." Betty answered cautiously. Her mother touched her hand lightly before giving her a sad smile.

"I just want to make sure you're okay." She said before glancing at Jughead for a split second but Betty caught the movement as her mothers eyes moved back to her and she spoke again with a smug tone in her voice. "Are you taking your meds? You know what your therapist said about taking them consistently."

Betty jerked her hands away and glanced at Jughead before she tossed her napkin onto the table and stood from her chair. "I'm not a child! I don't need you to remind me to take my meds and I sure as hell don't need your condescending passive aggressive attitude. Just because you don't like the choices I've made it doesn't give you the right to make comments on it, you don't get an opinion here."

She spun on her heal and left the dining room. She heard a chair scoot back and she could tell by the sound of the footsteps that it was Jughead following her as she flung the door open and left the house. She heard him close the door before he rushed to catch up with her and he caught her by the arm and spun her around in the middle of the path to look at him. He seemed surprised to see the tears that were wetting her cheeks and he gave her a concerned look.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly. She laughed harshly as she shook her head.

"Every time I have something that I like, she rips it apart like it's nothing. She can never just let me have anything, she has to tear it down and break it until I don't want it anymore. She's done it my entire life, and I hate it." She said. 

"Don't let her get to you, your life isn't any of her business anymore and if she wants to tear you down, don't give her that power. Don't let her make you feel bad about yourself." He said gently as he looked at her. She sniffled and swiped at the tears on her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"She just....." She sighed as more tears spilled over. "She makes me feel broken."

"You are not broken." He said with a serious look on his face. Their eyes met. "You are one of the strongest people I know, never let anyone make you feel less than you are. I don't care if she's your mother, she doesn't get to make you feel like this. Don't let her."

Betty was staring at him with wide eyes as he spoke and when he finished she went on her tiptoes and kissed him. He returned the kiss willingly as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss and she made a soft sound as their bodies pressed together. Her hand went into his hair keeping their lips connected as she nibbled on his lower lip gently and when they finally pulled away his lips were plush and swollen from their kiss. Their eyes met and she placed a second kiss to his lips lightly before pulling away and turning to climb into the truck. He seemed stunned for a moment frozen on the sidewalk before he shook himself out of it and climbed in as well. She gave him a soft smile but neither of them spoke about the kiss as they made their way home.


	12. Chapter 12

It was a few days after they the disastrous dinner with her mother and Betty had caught Jughead looking at her multiple times and she knew that he wanted to talk to her about something because sometimes when he thought she wasn't looking he'd open his mouth as if to speak before it snapped closed again and he'd shake his head before busying himself with something else and she was getting kind of impatient. She was sitting at the kitchen table and nibbling on some toast and reading a book when he turned from the cabinets and did it again so she sat her book on the table and raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" She asked and his eyes snapped to her.

"What?" He asked and she motioned for him to sit in the chair next to her.

"You've been looking at me weird since the dinner with my mom, I can tell you want to talk to me. Sit, it's okay." She said and he came to the table and sat, folding his hands on the table top as he gave he a sympathetic look.

"It's just that your mom said something about a therapist, and medication, I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He said softly as he shifted closer to her. "You've been living here for a few weeks and you haven't mentioned going to the therapist is all."

Betty sighed and took his hand in hers. "I'm okay Jug, I haven't been seeing my therapist for a few moths, my mom just doesn't know that. I still take my anti-anxiety medication but I decided, along with my therapists' approval to stop going. I don't need it as much as I once did, that's all it is." 

"Are you sure?" He asked and she nodded.

"I'm sure." She said softly and he nodded.

"Good, I just wanted to check in." He said biting his lip and looking up to meet her eyes. "I care about you Betty, I just wanted to make sure you were okay and you are so that's that." 

"I care about you too, Jug." She said and he gave her a smile and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek before standing up and going to make the sandwich he had started out coming into the kitchen for. Betty studied him while he wasn't looking and he seemed happy and content, and she was glad. She knew that she loved him and she was beginning to feel hope that he would return her feelings soon, and she wanted to call Veronica and thank her for inviting her on the trip to Vegas because otherwise she may never have gotten to know Jughead Jones and that would have been a tragedy. 'I care about you' wasn't love but it was a stepping stone so she was content with it for the moment.

Jughead sat back down at the table and sat a sandwich in front of her even though she hadn't asked and she gave him a smile of thanks as she pushed her book to the side and pulled the plate closer. They ate quietly the only sound in the room being their chewing which made it super easy to hear the slamming of a door outside. She could tell by the sound that it was the front door of the trailer next to them and she shared a wide-eyed look before Betty placed her sandwich back on the plate and hurried to their door to fling it open. 

Cheryl was standing on the porch with tears running down her face and Betty rushed over to her. She wrapped her arms around her tightly as soon as she saw her and Jughead gave her a look Cheryl couldn't see and motioned to the house with his head. She gave him a slight nod and after he disappeared into the trailer Betty guided Cheryl over to their own home and pulled her in and away from the prying eyes of the rest of their neighbors. She closed the door behind them and guided Cheryl to the couch where she sat back away from her to grab some tissue off the table and used them to wipe the tears off her face.

"What's going on Cheryl?" She asked quietly and Cheryl sniffled before looking at her.

"Toni and I got into a fight." She said and Betty nodded.

"Okay, about what?" She asked and Cheryl blew out a breath.

"Children." She said and Betty's eyes widened for a moment before she got control of her face and gave her a sympathetic look as she gently rubbed her shoulder.

"She doesn't want kids?" Betty asked and Cheryl shook her head.

"No, she does. That's the problem, I don't." She said and Betty took a deep breath as she studied her face.

"Why not?" She asked. Cheryl shrugged and twisted the tissue in her hands.

"My dad killed my twin brother, my mom is a vile cruel bitch, and my family is filled with incest and murders." She said and looked up to meet Betty's eyes before she snapped the her next comment sarcastically. "Our genetics are just a bag full of fun."

"Talk to her about it, explain your reasons. She'll understand." Betty said and Cheryl sighed. "And if you decide not to have baby, there's always adoption. You can teach your kids to be better than our family Cheryl, the don't have to end up like that. You can break the cycle, raise them to be better. If genetics is the only reason you don't want to have a child, then you have options, and if it's something deeper then you need to talk to her about that too." 

"What if she leaves me?" She said with a small voice and Betty touched her chin and made her look at her. She met her eyes with a serious look on her face.

"She loves you more than anyone in the world, she'll understand if you talk to her. Don't run away from your problems Cheryl, stay and fight with everything you have. Be better than your parents." She said and Cheryl stared at her for a long moment before she nodded slowly and stood from the couch.

"You're right." She said softly and started toward the door. "I'm going to talk to her."

She left and Betty only had to wait for a few minutes for Jughead to appear in the door. She gave him a smile as he closed the door and stood to walk over to him and wrap her arms around him, he returned the embrace and they stayed there for a long moment until he pulled back a little with his arms still around her, so that he could look down at her face. She went on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly and he smiled down at her softly when she moved back.

"What did you say to Cheryl? She came in like an avenging angel and kicked me out." He said and she laughed softly.

"I told her to fight, to not just give up and walk away." She told him and their eyes met. She saw something she couldn't quite identify pass through his eyes before he spoke.

"It's not bad advice." He said before he pulled away and pulled her to the couch by her hand. He sat and pulled her down next to him before flipping on the TV and threw his arm around her pulling her close on the couch. She was contented to let him hold her and she relaxed into him easily. They were watching a show that she had never seen before but when a story line came involving a baby she shifted away from him slightly so she could look at him and he gave her his attention.

"Have you ever thought about it? Children?" She asked softly and he studied her face before he shrugged.

"I guess I never really thought about it, not in a real sense anyway." He said quietly. "I didn't have the best childhood, my mom disappered with my little sister when I was about fourteen and my father was an alcoholic. I didn't have the best role models. My dad's great now, sober and all, but I didn't have that when I was a kid."

"So you don't think you'll be a good dad or something?" She asked and he sighed as he shifted to look at her fully.

"It's not that, it's just that I'm not sure that kids are a good idea. We live on the southside of Riverdale, and no matter what you do the northsiders will always find something to blame on us. I'm just not sure I want to bring a child into a world as toxic as ours," He said and she bit her lip.

"Things could change." She said quietly and he shrugged again.

"Maybe, but I know what its like to grow up in this town and have people look down on you just because of where you live, and I can tell you that it can wreck a person's self esteem. I wouldn't want to subject my child to that." He said. 

She sighed but let it got and they lapsed back into to silence, both staring at the TV but neither really paying attention to lost in their own thoughts. After another thirty minutes Betty made her excuses and retreated to the bedroom. She was left laying on her back, staring at the ceiling. She knew that they weren't anywhere near ready to bring a child into their relationship, but she had always wanted children. It may be a cliche but when she was little, being a mother was the only thing she wanted, and to hear that he didn't want children was a little disheartening. It wasn't like Toni and Cheryl where it was just about genetics, he didn't want children because he lived on the southside. She thought back to what Sweet Pea had said about Jughead not believing he could have it all because he lived on the soutside and she saw that coming through now.

She shook of the morbid thoughts for another day and turned on her side to curl up underneath the covers. The lights were off in the room but the streetlight from outside was falling through the curtains illuminating the room softly. She heard Jughead pulling out the mattress in the living room and she threw the covers off before making her way back. She leaned against the wall and waited for him to acknowledge her prescence, and when he finally looked up at her he raised an eyebrow.

"You can sleep with me." She said softly and she saw his eyes go wide so she rushed to explain. "I mean that you can sleep in the bedroom! It's probably more comfortable that the pull out and I don't mind sharing. It's a big bed after all."

"That's okay Betty, I said you could have the bedroom." He said and she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"That was when you thought I was only staying for a few days, I've been here for weeks." She said and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"It's okay, I don't mind." He said and she noticed a flush high in his cheeks. She scoffed and moved over to him before grabbing his hand and dragging him away from the living room and down the hallway to the bedroom.

"For god's sake, it's not a big deal. We're friends, we can share a bed without it being weird." She said as she closed the bedroom door behind them and he stared at her for a long moment.

"Are you sure?" He asked and she nodded.

"Absolutely, now get in." She said and climbed back in to her spot, pulling the blanket up over her shoulders. She felt the bed dip a few moments later as he slid in but she could feel the tension in his body so she turned around to face him and tossed the blanket over him as well. He glanced at her and she agave him a smile. "You can relax, I'm not going to kick you out, or be offended if you accidently touch me. It's okay."

He didn't respond but he gradually relaxed so she smiled as she turned back around and snuggled into the bed. They weren't touching but they were close enough that she could feel the heat coming off his body and she subconsciously moved closer. When her back touched the edge of his arm, he moved and she thought he was going to move away from her but he only rolled onto his side and his arm went around her waist as he pulled her closer until her back was flush against his chest. Neither of them spoke afraid it would upset the delicate balance between them. Betty blew out a soft contented breath as she snuggled into him and fell asleep quickly with the knowledge that she wasn't alone.


	13. Chapter 13

Betty woke bright and early because she was abnormally warm and she pushed the blankets down her body without opening her eyes. It took a few moments for her sleepy mind to register the arm thrown over her waist and her eyes snapped open as she remembered last night. The light streaming in through the windows caused her to groan as she rubbed her sensitive eyes and Jughead shifted a little behind her but she could tell he wasn't fully awake yet so she laid back down next to him, so she wouldn't wake him, extremely thankful that it was the weekend and she didn't have to rush out the door for work. She was staring at the wall when she realized she had been wrong about him not being fully awake as his fingers played along the skin of her stomach, exposed by her T-Shirt that had rolled up in the middle of the night.

She turned around to face him and saw him looking back at her with a soft expression on his face and she smiled and leaned over to kiss him thoroughly. She was definitely taking advantage of his recently awake brain as she ran her hand down his chest and slipped it under his shirt. She ran her nails down his skin lightly and he shivered as he pulled her closer to him and ran his lips down her neck. She moved her head to allow him access and he nipped lightly at her skin and she let out a soft sigh as tingles went down her spine. She pulled his lips back to hers as she rolled him onto his back and straddled his waist. His hands went to her hips and she could feel his hard and ready resting between her legs through their thin layers of clothing. His hand slipped under her shirt as she moved her lips to the base of his throat and started sucking a bruise into his skin. She felt the edge of his hand brush against the edge of her bra and she pulled back to jerk her shirt over her head before kissing him hard.

His hands went around her back and quickly unsnapped the bra, and she felt her nipples harden as they were exposed to the chilly early morning air. She sat back and watched as his eyes roamed her body and he sifted her on his lap so that he could sit up against the headboard. His eyes met hers and she could see the question in them so she took his hand and slid it up her body until he was cupping her breast giving him full permission before she kissed him again. She made quick work of removing his shirt as well and her hands began roaming his body as she felt his thumb brushing over her nipple and an electric shock went through her causing her to gasp sharply. She began rocking her hips against his as she could still feel him between her legs and he moved to lay a kiss against her breast. They were so caught up in the feeling of each other that they didn't hear the front door open so when the bedroom door was flung open it shocked them both thoroughly causing Betty to roll sideways onto the bed grabbing the blanket as she went to cover herself with.

Their eyes snapped to the door in unison to see Cheryl standing there with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face. Betty glared at her from her place on the bed and Jughead seemed incapable if speech at the moment.

"What the hell do you want?" Betty snapped but Cheryl just laughed.

"Sorry to interrupt cousin, but I have need of you." She said and Betty rolled her eyes.

"What could you possibly need right now?" She asked.

"I need you to come over to my place. TT and I have some things we want to discuss with you." She said and Betty sighed.

"This really can't wait?" She asked. "It's like seven in the morning."

"It may take a while, we wanted to get an early start." She said and Betty sighed again but nodded at her. Cheryl stayed in the doorway with her arms crossed for a long moment and Betty gave her a look.

"Can you leave? I'll be over in a few minutes." She said and Cheryl raised her eyebrow.

"Fine, but if your not over in ten minutes I'm coming back with a bucket of ice water to throw on you, fair warning." She said and spun on her heal closing the bedroom door as she went leaving them sitting on the bed awkwardly. Neither of them spoke and she refused to look at him in that moment with the blush high on her cheeks. She felt him shift on the bed and glanced at him to see he was pulling his shirt back over his head before she pointedly stared at the wall again. The silence between them was laced with awkwardness and she took a deep breath to calm her nerves before she finally looked at him. He was already looking at her and she nit her lip.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly and she shook her head.

"Don't." She said. "Don't apologize."

"Look Betty, I'm not blind, I know how attractive you are and while we're technically married, I don't want to do this with you. Not like this, just because we're both horny and it's easy. If we ever go there, I want it to mean something. Our first time was impulsive and neither of us remember it, I don't want to screw it up a second time. You deserve so much better than that." He said quietly before he stood from the bed and left the room without letting her reply.

She sighed and stood from the bed to get dressed. She grabbed her bra off the bed and quickly refastened it before she got changed and left the room. Jughead was sitting at the kitchen table but they didn't speak as she made her way past him to the door. She closed it lightly behind her and made the short walk across the yard to the trailer next to theirs. She didn't even bother to knock as she walked in and found Toni and Cheryl at their kitchen table and she joined them quietly. Toni slid a cup of coffee across the table to her and she took a big sip before looking at them with a raised eyebrow. Toni looked at her sympathetically.

"I told Cheryl not to just burst in, that this could wait." She said and Betty gave Cheryl a dirty look before turning to Toni.

"So what's this all about, Cheryl made it sound like it was life or death." She said and Toni rolled her eyes.

"Cheryl can be a little dramatic." She said and Cheryl gave her an offended look. "Sorry babe but it's true."

"We were talking last night about what you said." Cheryl started. "About adoption."

"Okay?" Betty said quietly.

"Well we looked into it a little bit last night and we found that it's better to be married if your going to adopt. It's something that they look at a lot, to make sure you can provide a stable, loving environment for a child." Toni said and Betty nodded.

"Right, okay." She said still not entirely following their conversation thread.

"Well Toni and I aren't married." Cheryl said and Betty shrugged.

"A quick trip to the courthouse can fix that." She said and Cheryl rolled her eyes.

"We know that but we need a witness. Veronica's already agreed to be one, but the law requires at least two so we were going to ask you." Toni said shooting a look a Cheryl over the table. Betty looked between the two of them for a long moment before her gaze landed directly on Cheryl.

"Is that it?" She asked and Cheryl shrugged with a nod and Betty blew out a breath. "You could have asked me that over the phone."

"Why would I call you when you live next door?" She said with a smirk and Betty rolled her eyes and she stood.

"I'm going home." She said and Cheryl grabbed her arm.

"I'm sorry Betty, I shouldn't have interrupted your sexy time with your husband, but to be fair I thought you'd be asleep." She said and Betty sighed.

"Well we obviously weren't." She pouted and Cheryl laughed.

"Obviously not. I saw a lot more of you than I ever needed to." She said and Betty gave her a look while Toni snorted into her coffee.

"Sorry." Toni muttered with a grin. "But we didn't just call you over for a question, we need help picking out dresses to wear."

"Dresses?" Betty asked and Cheryl scoffed pulling her back down into her chair.

"Just because I'm having a courthouse wedding doesn't mean I'm not going to look fabulous doing it." She said and pulled out a stack of magazines, sitting them in the middle of the table.

"When is this supposed to happen?" She asked. Toni glanced at her.

"Next weekend. We want to get started on the adoption process as soon as possible because it can take years so quick it is." She said. "We want to have the reception at the Whyte Wyrm, so you need to get your husband to approve it."

"I'll talk to him." She assured them.

They spent the rest of the morning buried in wedding magazines and Betty found herself feeling a little somber that she didn't even remember her own. She wanted to be one of the women in the magazines, in a stunning white dress getting married to the person they loved but she had to push those feelings aside as she gave input on the dresses her friends picked. It was fairly easy for Toni to settle on a style she liked to show to the people when they went dress shopping in a few days but Cheryl was harder to please. She wasn't sure what she wanted and kept going back and forth between styles until Toni finally pulled the magazine out of her hands and assured her that she could try on dresses of every style if she wanted. Toni told her that they'd stay the whole day if they had to for her to find the perfect dress and Cheryl finally calmed down.

* * *

When she finally made it back across the lawn, it was late afternoon and she hoped the awkwardness of the morning had passed as she pushed the door open cautiously. Jughead had moved to the couch and the television was on but he glanced up at her as soon as she entered and flipped it off before standing and coming toward her. She stayed in her spot waiting for him to reach her and when he did he gave he a soft smile so she knew that everything was good between them for now.

"So, I've met your mother." He said casually and she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." She said and he grinned.

"My dad called. He wants to meet you, are you up for it?" He asked and she smiled.

"Definitely." She answered. 

He nodded and grabbed his keys leading her back out the door she had just entered. She became immediately aware that they weren't taking the truck when he pulled the tarp off the top of his bike while grinning at her. 

"You've only been on my bike once. Thought it would be fun to take it to my dad's, it's not a long drive." He said and she could see the hopeful expression on his face so she smiled and moved toward him.

"Okay." She said softly.

He climbed onto the bike and she slipped on behind him. She wrapped her arms around him firmly as the bike roared to life and he pulled out onto the road. He had been right about the drive not being that long, only lasting a few minutes but she relished her time on the bike, with the wind whipping through her hair. He pulled into the driveway of a small trailer and the moment they stepped off the big a large fluffy sheepdog bounded over to them. Jughead laughed as he patted the dogs head and she smiled as she leaned down to pet it. 

The dog attacked her with it's tongue causing her to giggle as she ran her hands through it's fur. Jughead pulled the dog back by his collar and he sat in front of her with it's tail thumping against the ground. She smiled at Jughead and he shook his head with a grin on his face.

"This is Hotdog." He said and she raised an eyebrow.

"Hotdog?" She asked and he shrugged sheepishly.

"I was just a kid when I named him." He said and she grinned.

"I think it's cute." She said and a blush raised in his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Before either of them could say anything else a whistle sounded through the air and Hotdog ran toward the man that had appeared on the porch. Betty knew immediately that it was Jughead's dad, and she figured she would have been able to tell even if she wasn't expecting him. He and Jughead looked to similar not to be family. Jughead took her had and led her up the path to where he was standing and they exchanged hugs before she introduced herself and he surprised her by pulling her into a hug as well.

He brought out some lawn chairs and a cooler with sodas and water in it, saying that it was too nice of a day to spend inside. They all sat and made small talk occasionally throwing sticks for Hotdog until he got tired of it and flopped down on the ground next to Betty's feet. She kept running her hand through his fur as she spoke to the men. FP didn't hold back and told her a ton of stories about Jughead growing up, including on where he ran around with a diaper on his head for over an hour when he had been really small.

When she asked if he had any baby pictures she could see FP started to get up and get them before Jughead loudly protested that he needed to keep at least some of his dignity causing them to laugh but FP sat back down. He leaned over when Jughead wasn't paying attention and whispered that he'd show them to her later, with a wink causing her to giggle and Jughead to look at the suspisiously.  They spent the afternoon together and Betty decided that FP Jones was one of her favorite people.

Jughead left them outside alone for a few minutes as he went inside to replenish the drinks in the cooler giving them an opportunity to speak alone and FP took the chance.

"I know about your situation, with the marriage. Jughead told me." He said and she nodded. Of course he'd be honest with his dad, she may be okay lying to her parents but not everyone's family was as fucked as hers.

"Are you mad about it?" She asked softly and he shook his head.

"I'm not angry, you're young, I expect a few stupid things to be done." He said softly. "But if I didn't know the truth, it wouldn't surprise me that you were married to each other."

"What do you mean?" She asked confusion clouding her mind.

"You and Jug, the way you look move together. I've been watching the two of you all afternoon and you move the same, neither of you have to communicate verbally, your body language says it all. You anticipate each others movements and you match it without even thinking. It's like you've known each other your whole lives, you move in sync." He said and she studied his face for a moment. He seemed genuinely serious. "You love him, I can see it."

"He doesn't love me back." She whispered.

"He will." He answered back softly glancing at the trailer where Jughead had just come out. "Don't let him push you away."

"I won't."

 


	14. Chapter 14

Betty and Jughead were sitting in Pop's waiting for Archie and Veronica. They had all been so busy since the trip to Vegas that they hadn't seen each other in a few weeks despite the small town, with Betty and Jughead spending most of their time on the southside, their paths hadn't crossed so when Veronica called demanding a get together they were all for it. They had already ordered milkshakes and Betty was sipping on hers and observing the people in the diner, there weren't many but all of them were very unsubtleiy eyeing her and Jughead. Even with Veronica's instagram post and Betty changing her name in the byline of each story she printed to spite her mother, no one in the town seems to have realized that they were actually married. It surprised her because though most of them weren't that observant, they were a gossipy bunch so she suspected her mother had something to do with the obvious lack of recognition. Ever since the explosive dinner her mother had been pushing her to have a public wedding because apparently eloping gave the family a bad name, as if Alice Cooper hadn't been doing that all on her own.

Betty rolled her eyes when she saw that they were all side eyeing them like that would make it any less obvious that they were staring. She leaned into Jughead next to her and he put his arm around her shoulders, and when she glanced at him she knew from the look in his eyes that he had noticed the staring too. Their attention was quickly diverted when the bell rang announcing an arrival but when Archie and Veronica joined them at the table the staring became even more intense until Veronica gave them all a dirty look, causing them to look away. Betty greeted them cheerily before Pop's appeared next to the table to take their orders which they gave readily, not even having to glance at the menu. When he walked away Veronica turned her full attention on them, her eyes lingering on Jughead's arm still slung over her shoulders.

"So, how's married life going?" She asked and Betty gave her a look. "What? I'm just asking?"

"We're doing great Veronica." Betty said. Jughead shifted next to her and moved his arm off her to lean against the table.

"I met Alice Cooper." He said and they both made a face.

"That's a tough one." Archie said. "Almost as bad as meeting Veronica's parents."

"Hey!" Veronica exclaimed and Archie gave her a look with a raised eyebrow.

"You disagree?" He asked and she shrugged with a pout.

"Okay, maybe you have a point but still." She said. Betty grinned.

"I actually kind of liked her parents." She said and Archie rolled his eyes.

"That's because you weren't dating her." He said and they all laughed.

Their food came quickly and they dug in speaking between mouthfuls of food, but toward the end of the meal Archie and Veronica kept exchanging looks and Betty knew they didn't just want to get together because they hadn't seen each other in a while so she sat the remainder of her burger down and pushed it to the side as she looked at them. Veronica seemed to squirm under her gaze and she raised an eyebrow at them.

"What's going on?" She asked. 

"Nothing." Archie said quickly and she crossed her arms as she looked at them.

"You two have been acting weird, I know you didn't just call us here for a bite to eat, so spill." She said and Veronica took a deep breath and leaned forward against the table.

"You're right, we didn't call you here just for food, Archie and I have something we anted to tell you guys." Veronica said.

"Are you getting married?" Jughead asked. 

"No." Veronica answered. "But we are....."

"What V? You know you can tell us anything." Betty said reaching across the table and taking her hand. Veronica nodded and took another deep breath and blew it out before she spoke.

"We're having a baby." She said in a rush. Betty was stunned for a moment as she took in the information she was just given and her eyes flickered to Veronica's stomach before coming back up to meet her eyes as a smile broke on her face.

"That's great guys." She said and Jughead nodded beside her.

"It really is." He said. "It wasn't what I was expecting you to say, but it's great. Congratulations, guys."

"Thanks." Archie said and Betty got up to hug them both.

They spoke for a while longer before they parted ways with plans to hang out again. The drive back to the southside was quiet as it usually was and when they pulled into the driveway, Betty was happy to be home. She had been lost in her thoughts for the ride, everyone's lives and relationships were changing and growing. All of her friends were making plans for the future, plans for a family, and she was locked in a stalemate with a man she loved and was married to, but wasn't technically in a relationship with. It made her feel like she was stuck in place, wanting to move forward but with no idea how to.

When they stepped into the house Jughead wordlessly pulled her to the couch and flipped on the TV. It had become tradition for them to do this when they both got home form work, so that they could spend a little time together and she was aware of how domestic the practice was and it drove her crazy that they weren't actually together, while their entire life had been crafted around their marriage the last couple of weeks. She tried to shove the thoughts out of her brain and focus on the TV so she'd at least know what they were watching but when she looked it was on a commercial. From the look on Jughead's face he wasn't to invested in whatever show was on, had probably turned it on just to have something to do until it was a respectable time to climb into bed.

Betty flipped the TV off causing Jughead to look at her as she shrugged and stood from the couch just to float over to the stacks of CD's on the corner of the room. Jughead came over to observe her and she smiled at him as she flipped through them looking for something to listen to. Most of the music was folk music or old eighties stuff but she didn't mind as she searched until she finally pulled one out of the pile. She slipped the disk into the player and turned it on. Roxette's 'It Must Have Been Love' started playing and she turned to him, still observing her and held out her hand.

"Dance with me?' She asked and he raised an eyebrow.

"The only reason I danced in Vegas was because I was drunk." He said and she gave his a pout coupled with puppy dog eyes.

"Please?" She asked. He looked at her for a long moment and she thought he was going to refuse until he sighed and reached out to grab her hand in his. He pulled her into the middle of the room and she smiled as he wrapped an arm around her back. When they started moving it was awkward at first but she encouraged him and they started spinning around the room together. He spun her around before pulling her close and their eyes met as they shared a smile. The music changed but neither of them payed it any mind as they twirled together and he dipped her, causing giggles to erupt.

As he pulled her back up their eyes caught and stayed. Their movements gradually slowed as they looked each other in the eyes until they were just holding each other in the center of the room. She saw some emotion she couldn't identify pass through his eyes seconds before he kissed her. She gasped softly as she pulled him closer, the kiss only lasted for a few moments before he pulled back. Her hand was tangled in his hair and they were looking at each other. When he tried to pull away, she held on to him.

"Please." She whispered. His eyes flickered to her lips for a moment before coming back up to meet hers.

"We shouldn't." He said softly.

"Please, I want this." She said. He looked conflicted for a moment but she touched his face lightly and pressed another soft kiss to his lips. "Please."


	15. Chapter 15

Her back hit the cabinet but she wasn't to concerned about it at the moment as Jughead moved his lips to her neck and began sucking on the spot between her shoulder and beck making tingles go down her spine and straight to her core. She sighed out as she wrapped her legs around his waist and began pulling at the shirt covering him, and he moved away for a moment to pull it over his head, her shirt quickly joining his on the floor. His hands were roaming her exposed skin as he kissed her thoroughly and one hand snuck under her skirt and she felt the edge of his thumb just to the side of where she really wanted him and she squirmed her hips. He grabbed her hip with his other hand to keep her in place as he hooked her panties with his finger and scooted her to the edge of the counter to quickly pull them down her legs. She bit her lip as he reached up to unsnap her bras and she let it fall off her arms and to the floor as he observed her.

He kissed her hard before he moved his mouth to her nipple and rolled it around between his lips. She whimpered and shifted her hips as an invitation for him to do something, but he just moved both hands to her hips keeping her in place as he kept manipulating her nipples. He flicked his tongue over them before blowing on them sending shivers through her body and causing her breathing to become heavy and ragged in anticipation of his next move. She leaned her head back against the cabinet and watched him through heavily lidded eyes, until finally his hand moved from her hip and she felt him against her core. He moved his fingers teasingly and she whimpered needily as she tightened her grip against the edge of the counter.

He kissed her deeply as he finally sank a finger into her and she gasped and began sucking on his tongue as he moved. It didn't take him long to add another finger and she could feel herself stretching around them. She broke their kiss and threw her head back as she rocked her hips forward trying to get friction, he had a look of concentration on his face as an electric shock of pleasure ran through her and she let out a soft moan. He seemed to nod to himself as he continued his ministrations seemingly hitting that spot every time and she was breathing heavily between the moans of pleasure. She felt the pressure building just behind her belly button before the waves of pleasure crashed over her and he fingernails dug into the edge of the counter and her head went back, moaning her pleasure to the world. She came out of it slowly as she moved her hands to his hair and pulled him in for a hard kiss as she once again wrapped her legs around him. He slid her off the counter and began carrying her down the hall to the bedroom.

He laid her down on the bed and she looked up at him as he finished undressing before he moved to pull off her skirt leaving them both completely naked. He crawled onto the bed until he was directly over her and he leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly and she nodded.

"More than okay." She assured him and he smiled down at her.

"Good, because I'm not done with you yet." He said.

She pulled him back down to her, letting him know that she was more than okay with that. She moved to suck a bruise into his collarbone before he pushed her legs open and she watched as he lined himself up and pushed into her. She lifted her hips to meet him and he began to rock forward, and she felt herself opening up for him as her nails dug into his shoulders. His hand tangled into her hair as he bit into her neck lightly and she moaned loudly in encouragement. The sound of their heavy breathing and moans of pleasure filled the room as their bodies moved together chasing that high. She felt the pressure building quickly again right before she went over the edge, stars exploded in her vision and the world went fuzzy for a few seconds. When she came back to herself, he was still moving against her but she could feel his rhythm falter and she grabbed his face and made him meet her eyes. She let her emotions show freely in that moment, the words she couldn't say shining through her eyes, and she saw them reflected back at her before his body froze and his eyes fell closed.

She held him as he came down until he pulled out of her and rolled to the side of the bed. They laid there next to each other just catching their breath and calming down. Neither of them spoke for a long moment, but the silence couldn't last forever.

"Jug...." She started quietly.

"Please don't." He said softly. "Don't say it, not tonight."

"Okay." She said. But the words lingered, unspoken, between them.

* * *

They had fallen asleep curled around each other and when Betty woke she wasn't sure what it was that woke her for a moment, but she was sure she hadn't just woken on her own. Her suspisions were confirmed when she heard a quiet knocking from the door and she slid out of the bed careful not to wake him. She pulled on a robe and closed the bedroom door before making her way to the door. Of all the people she expected to see when she swung the door open, Attorney McCoy hadn't been on her list.

"Miss Cooper, I didn't expect you here so early." She said politely as Betty invited her in.

"I've been staying here for a little while." She answered before turning to start the coffee pot. "Not to be rude Attorney McCoy, but what are you doing here?"

"I came to see Mr. Jones, but since it directly involves you, I can inform you." She said and Betty moved to sit at the table with her.

"Okay, what's going on?" She asked and Attorney McCoy laid a file on the table.

"Mr. Jones called me a few weeks ago asking if there was any way to expedite the process and get the divorce finalized sooner, so I've been working on it and it should be final by the end of the week. This file is just paperwork that I'll need signed." She said.

"Oh, that soon?" Betty asked quietly, hurt erupting in her chest. She knew they had talked about the divorce and agreed on it, but him going behind her back and trying to make it happen quicker was a horrible feeling. Did he really want to be rid of her that much? Attorney McCoy was studying her face so she gave her the best smile she could manage, but it obviously wasn't great because her lips pursed as she looked at her.

"I thought this would be good news." She said and Betty took a deep breath and put on a cheery facade.

"It is! I was just surprised is all." She said. "I'll let Jughead know you stopped by when he wakes up."

She was still eyeing her when she left the trailer but Betty just closed the door and leaned against it.  She could feel the tears building behind her eyes but she refused to let them fall and instead distracted herself by taking a shower and getting dressed quickly before she made breakfast which seemed to finally rouse Jughead from his slumber, as he shuffled into the kitchen. She put the food on plates and sat them on the table without speaking and as he watched her he noticed the file on the table.

"What's this?" He asked as he picked it up.

"Attorney McCoy dropped by, said you'd called her." She said without looking at him.

"Betty...." He said softly. Her eyes snapped to him.

"You sure seem to want to get out of this quick." She snapped and he sighed as he threw the file back on the table and moved toward her but she stepped back stopping him in his tracks.

"This is for the best, Betty. The sooner the divorce goes final, the better it'll be for everyone. We can put this all behind us." He said and she scoffed.

"Wow, okay you want to put me behind you. Good to know." She said and he sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"That is not what I meant." He said and she glared at him.

"You seem to have decided that we can't work for whatever reason, so you're trying to push me away, but what if that isn't what _I_ want." She asked. He stared at her for a long moment.

"Are you kidding me Betty? Why would you stay? This trailer, the southside, the serpents. That's all I have to offer you, I'm not suddenly going to change into prince charming, this is it!" He yelled. She was glaring at him but she felt the tears burning behind her eyes.

"I never asked you to change!" She shouted. "I don't want you to change."

"You can't stay here for the rest of your life Betty. You are meant for better things than this town, I'm not good enough." He said and threw his arms out indicating the trailer. "This isn't good enough. You deserve so much more, you deserve to be with someone who can give you the world."

"I don't want the world, I want you." She said.

"One day that will change, and you'll thank me." He said and she shook her head.

"No." She said softly. "I love you, and I know that you love me too. I won't give up on us."

"You should." He said and turned away from her to face the counter. "Go home, Betty."

"This is my home." She said and he slammed his fist on the counter and spun back around to face her.

"No it isn't!" He shouted. "Go home!"

"No." She said and he glared at her.

"I. Don't. Want. You. Here." He snapped the words at her. "Go home."

He was looking at her with true anger in his face and she couldn't stop the tears from falling. She spun toward the door and flung it open as she rushed out of it. It slammed shut behind her and she moved toward her car as the sobs wracked her body. She almost didn't hear her name being called but the sound broke through and she spun to see Cheryl and Toni standing on their porch looking concerned. Cheryl took a step toward her but she shook her head quickly as she jumped into her car and peeled out of the driveway. She didn't want the comfort right now, not as her entire world crashed around her.

She somehow made it back to her apartment in one piece and as she stepped in the door she collapsed to the floor. This wasn't home anymore, and she wanted more than anything to go back to before, before Attorney McCoy showed up, before Jughead told her to leave, just before.

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

Betty spent the remainder of the week in her bed, she called into work and told them she wasn't feeling well and she wouldn't be in for a while. That resulted in her mother calling her incessently demanding to know if she was pregnant until finally she just hung up on her and turned her phone off. She hadn't shown up at the apartment and Betty figured that her mother thought she was still on the southside, and there was no way she was going to go there. Her eyes were puffy and her nose was running but after a week of tears she didn't have any left, she was just numb. It wasn't like she didn't still love him, and she knew that he loved her too, he was just insecure. He said it himself, he didn't think he was good enough, and she just wanted to shake him until he understood, but he had also been really harsh with her and a little niggling thought was building that maybe she had read the signals wrong, maybe he wasn't really in love with her and she was just delusional.

She hardly moved from her bed, only to occasionally grab a snack or use the bathroom, and she knew it wasn't healthy and that she shouldn't let herself fall into this hole but she couldn't help it. She heard a door open and close softly and thought, maybe this is it, maybe someone will come in and kill me because I'm to stupid to lock my door. She heard the footsteps across the floor, coming directly for her bedroom and she sat up, looking around for anything she could use as a weapon when the door opened to reveal none other than Veronica Lodge in all her glory. Betty huffed and rolled her eyes as she flopped back down onto the bed. Veronica wrinkled her nose and gave her a once over with disgust on her face.

"Cm'on B, I know you're going through something, but you could at least shower." She said and Betty groaned and shoved a pillow over her head.

"Leave me alone." She mumbled through the fabric. She didn't even have to be looking at Veronica to know she was getting the signature eye roll. The blankets were yanked off her body, exposing her to the cool air and the pillow was pried out of her hands, causing her to glare at Veronica who looked unbothered by it as she put her hands on her hips and glared right back.

"You and I are going to have a talk, but first you're going to take a shower. You look like a mess." She said ad Betty rolled her eyes and shoved her face into the bed, refusing to move.

"Leave me alone."

"I will drag you out of this bed by your ankles if I have to, but I'm really not in the mood to be doing physical labor, so could you work with me here?" She said and Betty sighed.

"If I get in the shower will you leave me alone?" She asked, face still pressed into the mattress.

"For a little while." She said and Betty groaned. 

"Fine." She said and finally got out of the bed. She shuffled to the bathroom with Veronica close behind making sure she actually went into the bathroom and turned on the shower before she left to give her a little privacy. As she undressed, she looked at herself in the mirror and saw the fading bruises along her skin. They made her sad to look at, a reminder of the last happy memory with him before it all went to shit. She could understand now why he was trying to keep his distance, it was because he was planning for a swift divorce and departure from any sort of relationship with her. She sighed and ran her fingers over the bruises one last time before she climbed into the shower. 

She wasn't sure how long she was in the shower but when she began running the cloth over her skin and seeing the marks left behind, her mind kept going back to that last morning with him. She sank to the floor of the tub and wrapped her arms around her knees as the water crashed around her. She had been wrong about having no tears left to cry as they flowed creating hot tracks down her cheeks. She buried her face in her knees as the ache in her chest became apparent. She sat there until the water went cold and Veronica burst into the room to shut it off. She didn't even look at her as she stayed curled on the bottom of the shower until Veronica grabbed a towel off the rack and pulled her up to her feet to wrap it around her. Once the towel was secure, Veronica wrapped her arms around her tightly and she slowly returned the hug taking the comfort her friend was offering.

They were slowly able to make their way back to the living room and Veronica sat her down on the couch before she left to grab a comb and gently run it through her hair. She didn't speak or try to pry anything out of Betty, she just combed through her hair humming lightly as she went. When she was done with that she pulled Betty back into her and wrapped her arms around her from behind to hold her, as she rested her head on Betty's shoulder. Betty blew out a breath and leaned into her as they sat together on the couch. 

"You want to talk about it?" Veronica asked softly as she ran her hand through Betty's hair.

"I love him." She answered in a whisper.

"Okay so what's the problem?" She asked.

"He doesn't love me back." She said and Veronica shifted to hold her tighter.

"How do you know that?" She asked and Betty shifted in her arms so she could turn to look at her.

"He told me to leave. We slept together, but then I found out he went behind my back to speed up our divorce. We got into a fight about it, and he told me to leave V. He wanted out." She said and Veronica sighed and met her eyes.

"Did he ever say he didn't love you?" She asked and Betty shrugged.

"His actions spoke pretty loud. I got the message." She said softly and Veronica touched her face lightly, making Betty look at her.

"He told you to leave, I get that, but when I saw the two of you the other day in Pop's.....well, I don't think I know a couple better for each other. Your marriage may have been a drunken decision, but I think fate had something to do with bringing you together. I saw the way he looked at you when you weren't looking, that man loves you, I have no doubt about that." She said and Betty moved away from her to the other side of the couch, adjusting the towel around her as she went.

"If that's true, why would he do what he did?" She asked quietly. Veronica sighed and shrugged.

"I can't begin to understand Jughead Jones, but I know that he isn't a cruel person. He's not the type of guy to sleep with a girl just because he can. I'm just saying that maybe he's wrestling with a few demons of his own, that have nothing to do with you. Maybe he just lashed out because he didn't know what else to do." She said quietly.

Betty didn't respond as she got lost in her thoughts, going over the last few weeks with Jughead. Their interactions told her that he was holding himself back from her, he said it himself, he didn't think he was good enough. Maybe Veronica was right about it all, he had his own demons to fight, just as she had hers. She knew that neither of them had the best childhood stories and she didn't want to just give up, as the words FP had said to her came back 'don't let him push you away', but that's exactly what she had done. She had walked away without much of a fight, because he had hurt her feelings and she lost hope. 

She was on her feet quickly as she spun to Veronica. "There's something I have to do."

She didn't wait for a response as she moved quickly to her room and pulled out an outfit. She got dressed quickly and breezed back into the living room as Veronica stared at her from her place on the couch. She grabbed her keys and marched toward the door before flinging it open. She was stopped in her tracks by Jughead standing on the other side, with his fist raised as if he was about to knock. His hand fell to his side as their eyes met for the first time in over a week, and they were left staring at each other until Veronica appeared at her side. Jughead glanced over at her before his eyes landed back on hers.

"Can we talk?"


	17. Chapter 17

Veronica made a hasty exit, throwing a goodbye over her shoulder and Betty moved to the side to allow Jughead into the apartment. He stood in the middle of the living room, staring at his feet with his hand rubbing the back of his neck and she crossed her arms as she leaned against the door. Neither of them spoke for a long moment until he glanced up and caught her eyes, and he seemed to brace himself before he started speaking.

"I don't like how we left things, I wanted to come and talk to you." He said softly and for some reason she was immediately angry. She had been planning on going to him and clearing things up between them but now that he was here, she was pissed.

"Talk about what? How you kicked me out after sleeping with me?" She snapped and he took a small step toward her before her glare froze him in place.

"I didn't mean for that to happen Betty, it just did." He said. She bit her lip as she studied his posture and facial expression. He looked contrite and apologetic and she sighed.

"Why did you try to speed things up? The divorce would have finalized in the next couple of months anyway." She asked quietly. "Was it really that bad to have me hanging around?"

"It wasn't about that Betty, I just thought that it was for the best if it happened quickly." He said.

"Why?" She asked. "If you want the divorce to be handled so quickly, then why did you introduce me to your friends, your dad even. If we weren't going to be apart of each others lives, then what was the point of it all?" 

"I...." He trailed off and ran his hands through his hair as he blew out a breath and met her eyes. "I care about you Betty and I wanted them to know you, because you're amazing, but I can't be selfish with you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" She asked and he looked at her.

"You deserve more than I can give you. You're smart, and beautiful, you could do anything with your life, go anywhere. I didn't want you to feel obligated to stay in this town, in the southside for the rest of your life." He said and she sighed. "There is so much more to life out there, and I want you to have the chance to experience it. You could never do that if you stayed with me."

"You don't get it, I don't want any of that." She told him. "I don't want some life outside of Riverdale, I'm content to stay here, to raise a family here, I don't want to leave. You aren't holding me back from anything." She moved forward and touched his arm lightly. His eyes snapped up to her face. "Please don't shut me out, especially if you're doing it because you think it's what's best for me."

"Betty...." He said softly. "I don't want you to resent me."

"I don't. I won't." She said as she looked up at him.

"You deserve better." He said and she sighed.

"Isn't that for me to decide?" She asked and he looked at her with a sad smile so she reached up to touch his face. "Listen to me Jughead, we only get one life and then it's over. One life to do all the things that we dream of, one life to find our happiness and I found mine with you. I don't need anything else, I don't need to travel or see the great wonders of the world, I just need this. We get one life, and I want to spend mine with you, so please stop pushing me away. Let me in."

He looked down at her with something like astonishment on his face and she went on tiptoes to kiss him softly. He gave a soft gasp as if he wasn't expecting it but his hands went to her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. When they broke away from the kiss their eyes met and something crossed his face as he studied her face for a moment.

"I didn't file it." He said and she furrowed her brow as she moved back from him slightly.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"The divorce papers. I called Attorney McCoy and told her not to file it, I couldn't do it. It felt wrong." He said softly. "After you left, I wanted to call you back immediately but I was convinced you hated me. I never should have spoken to you like that, I never should have made you leave, but it did put things in perspective for me. I sat down at the table with that file, and I couldn't do it. Our marriage may have started out as an accident, but when you were gone, I realized that it wasn't fake anymore."

"What are you saying?" She asked softly, looking up into his eyes.

"I'm saying, I love you." He said steadily and she stared at him.

"You love me?" She asked and he nodded. She pulled back from him suddenly. "You love me and you were still urging me to leave?"

"Because I love you Betty. I want you to have everything that life has to offer, but I understand now that that isn't what you want." He said and she studied him for a long moment. He had an earnest expression on his face and her heart leaped in her chest. He loved her. Everything he had done was because he loved her, and he wanted better for her. She moved back toward him quickly as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him hard. He pulled her tight and she felt her entire world fall back onto it's axis as he kissed her back. She pulled back from him and cupped his face in her hands letting the emotion show in her eyes as she spoke.

"Jughead Jones, I love you."

"I love you, Elizabeth Jones." 

She raised an eyebrow at him before she smiled and pulled him back down for another kiss before she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the bedroom. She stripped him down and shoved him onto the bed before crawling over the top of him. He was looking up at her with heat in his eyes and she gave him a cheeky grin before she grabbed a thin scarf off of the chair next to the bed and mode quick work of tying his hands to the headboard. He looked at her with nervousness showing in his eyes.

"Do you trust me?" She asked softly.

"Yes." He said.

He seemed to calm down as she moved to the edge of the bed and pulled off the dress she had thrown on after her shower, leaving her in only a bra and panties. She moved until she was positioned between his legs and she smiled at him before she kissed his hips where the dipped in and sucked a gentle bruise into the soft skin there and his hips bucked lightly. She pressed her hand to his other hip keeping him from moving to much as she moved her mouth to lick a strip of skin and she intentionally allowed her hair to brush against him where he was slowly hardening. She glanced up at him as she touched him lightly with her hand and lowered her head to lick the head of him gentle. His eyes went wide and he pulled against the restraints on his wrist and she smirk as she took him fully into her mouth in a swift movement.

His breath went out in a sigh as she rolled her tongue around him and he bucked his hips again, but this time she allowed it as a moan left his lips. She continued her ministrations until he was letting out a high keening sound and a bitter salty taste reached her. He whimpered and she heard him pulling hard at his restraints. His voice came soft and strained.

"Please. Please baby, stop." He said and she pulled off him with a pop and looked up to meet his eyes with a small smirk on her lips.

"You need something?" She asked, her voice raspy.

"I don't want to go like this." He said breathily and she smiled as she traced shapes into his hip with her finger.

"Tell me what you want." She said softly. 

"I want to be inside you." He said softly and she raised an eyebrow.

"I see, and do you think you deserve that?" She asked. He watched her as she removed her bra and panties. She moved up his body slightly and ran herself along the length of him but never let him enter and he was whimpering as he looked up at her with pleading in his eyes.

"Please." He whimpered and she smiled.

"Please what?" She asked.

"Please let me fuck you." He said and she tutted.

"So crude, my love." She said but she moved to line herself up and she sank down on him in one swift movement. Her head went back and she breathed out a sigh as he was sheathed fully inside her. She could feel him bumping against her cervix and it ached a little but the slight pain just added to the pleasure as she began rocking her hips against him. She was breathing heavily as she chased the high she knew was coming. Their moans blended together in a cacophony of pleasure bouncing off the walls and bouncing back to ring in her ears. She leaned down to kiss him and the change in angle hit a spot deep inside her, leaving her gasping and breathless from the pleasure as she rocked her body harder against his. She felt him bite down on her lip softly and she moaned softly as she felt the pressure building. The orgasm rolled over her unexpectedly leaving her clenching the pillow under his head and with stars exploding behind her eyes. 

She kept her body rocking through the waves of pleasure and went her vision cleared, she moved her shaky hands up to release Jughead's wrists and his hands immediately went to her hips and flipped them quickly. Her back hit the mattress and Jughead kissed her hard as he rocked his hips forward and she stuffed her hands into his hair and tugged lightly, urging him to snap his hips forward faster. She moved her mouth to his neck and bit down on the sensitive skin there, softly as her hands moved from his hair and her nails dug into his shoulders. Her breathing went ragged as she felt the pressure building behind her belly button again and she wrapped her legs around his waist as the second orgasm came over her and he tumbled over the edge with her. 

They stayed in place until they caught their breath and he pulled out of her easily. They laid next to each other with their arms touching as they stared at the ceiling until he rolled over to look at her and she did the same. He pushed her hair behind her ear and she caught his wrist in her hand, it had a faint red mark around it and she placed a soft kiss on it before letting go. He glanced at his wrist and smiled at her.

"You should tie me up more often." He said and she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah?" she asked and he nodded.

"Or we could trade, and you could let me tie you up." He said cheekily ans she laughed softly.

"Maybe next time." She said softly.

Neither of them spoke for a moment as they just basked in the afterglow together but Betty felt a thought niggling at the back of her mind and she couldn't help but voice it. She looked over to meet his eyes and his face morphed into an equally serious expression when he took in her face.

"You're not going to push me away again are you?" She asked softly. "I don't want you to run again, I couldn't take it."

"Never again, Betty." He said and she studied his face.

"Promise?" 

"I promise."


	18. Chapter 18

After a second shower to wash off the sweat and the smell of sex, they found themselves in the kitchen. Betty was munching on a bowl of cereal as she sat on the counter and Jughead was leaned against the counter next to her when the front door burst open admitting her mother. Betty let out a deep sigh and hopped down before sitting her bowl on the edge as she looked at her mother over the counter with a raised eyebrow.

"You know they invented knocking a long time ago." She said while her mother was glaring at her.

"I was driving by and saw your car outside." She said. "We need to talk."

"About?" Betty asked leaning on her arms pressed into the counter top.

"You trying to keep me in the dark about the pregnancy." She snapped. Betty saw Jughead's eyes go wide and his head whipped to her.

"Pregnancy?" Jughead asked and she rolled her eyes.

"I already told you, I'm not pregnant." She said and her mother scoffed.

"Right, and you expect me to believe you?" She asked. "You hung up on me when I asked about it and now Veronica Lodge has posted about a bundle of joy joining your friend group. I'm not an idiot Betty."

"She's talking about her own baby." Betty huffed and her mother crossed her arms as she stared at her. "She's pregnant, not me."

"Then why did you hang up on me?" She asked and Betty rolled her eyes again.

"Because you can be obnoxious mom." She said truthfully. Her mother narrowed her eyes at her.

"I don't believe you." She said and Betty sighed and threw her hands up.

"Jesus, do I have to take a test to prove it to you?" She snapped.

"Yes actually." She said as she yanked a test out of her bag and Betty crossed her arms as she stared at her.

"You're joking right?" She asked and her mother shrugged.

"If you don't have anything to hide, it's not a big deal right?" She asked and Betty rolled her eyes a third time. She was beginning to worry that if she had to deal with her mother for much longer they'd get stuck. She yanked the test out of her hand.

"For god's sake." She muttered as she spun toward the bathroom and she made a point to slam the door when she got there. She ripped open the box and grabbed the test out of it, and with the directions not being that complicated, she was quickly snapping the cap back on the end and she flung the door open and handed the test to her awaiting mother who sat a timer and glared at her the entire time they were waiting. The awkward silence in the room made the wait almost unbearable and Betty was thankful when the alarm went off. Her mother looked at the test and seemed to be studying it extra hard as if she was trying to figure something out, until finally she looked up at them.

"It's negative." She said and Betty nodded.

"I told you it would be." She said. "Now, did you need something else mother, or did you just burst in here for that?"

"I don't need anything." She said as she studied them. "Are you moving in to this place then? It's a better district."

"No Mom, we're quite content on the southside actually, just came to pick some things up." Betty said. Jughead raised an eyebrow at here from where her mother couldn't see and she gave him a look. Her mother huffed as she looked around.

"Well if you aren't going to live here, you should put it up for sale soon. Have some extra money." She said and Betty could tell by her tone she was making a dig at them because the southside was generally made up of lower income families. Betty chose to ignore it not wanting to start another fight.

"I'll look into it." She said politely. Her mother finally left and she blew out a breath as she leaned back against the counter, closing her eyes as she took a few deep breaths. She felt Jughead come closer to her before he wrapped his hands around her arms. She reopened her eyes to look up at him and he had a serious look in his eyes.

"Maybe we should think about selling it." He said and she studied his face.

"Why, it's not like we need the money." She said and he shrugged.

"No but...." He trailed off and she touched his face lightly.

"But?" She asked.

"I want you to come home. The trailer isn't the same without you there, I've grown used to having you around." He said softly and she smiled up at him.

"Home?" She asked.

"Isn't that what it is?" He said softly returning her smile.

"Yeah, home sounds about right." She said before he leaned down to kiss her.

"Besides, if we sell this place, it's acknowledging that we are married, for real." He said and she looked at him confused. "Having this place, it's like we don't have to be all in, because you could just leave and come back. The trailer wouldn't really be home because you'd have a backup to retreat to when things got hard. If we only have one home, it'll mean that if we get into a fight, we'll have to work it out instead of running. I think it'll be good for us." 

"Okay, we'll sell it." She agreed. "But let's make a promise, here and now, that we'll never go to bed angry. That we'll stay up and work it out."

"That's a promise I can get behind." He said.

They spent the afternoon packing up the rest of her clothes, most of them had already migrated to the trailer but she still had a few things lingering around that she threw into a box. They packed everything into the trunk of her car and she locked the apartment door before leaving. Jughead had rode his bike to her apartment so they went their separate ways on the sidewalk and he made it home before she did, but not by much longer. As they were carrying a few boxes to the trailer Toni and Cheryl appeared on their porch and Betty left Jughead with the last box as she went over to greet them. Toni raised an eyebrow and motioned to Jughead with her head.

"So he finally pulled his head out of his ass?" She asked and Betty shrugged.

"We talked, it's better now." She said and Cheryl scoffed.

"Guy's lucky I didn't give him a black eye." She said and Betty raised an eyebrow at her. Toni noticed and leaned over to explain.

"When you left in tears, I couldn't stop her from going over and inserting herself into the situation. I could hear her screaming at him from over here, about hurting you. It went on for over half an hour and Jughead didn't even have a chance to say anything, Cheryl was on a roll. I'm pretty sure she threw in a couple of nasty insults and curse words before I finally pulled her away." Toni said.

"Nobody messes with my family." Cheryl said stubbornly.

"We don't even know what you guys were arguing about, Jughead wouldn't say, even after Cheryl had calmed down enough to be civil." Toni explained and Betty sighed.

"We were arguing about divorce papers." She said and their heads whipped to look at her almost simultaneously. She held her hands up in a calming gesture, she really hadn't meant to blurt out the truth but she hand't really been thinking about what she said until their reaction clued her in. "We didn't file them, and we worked it out, but it was a little touch and go for a while." 

"Jesus Betty, you could have told us." Cheryl said and she shrugged.

"It's fine guys, we're fine. Don't worry about it, worry about your own wedding. It's in two days right." She said desperately trying to change the subject as Jughead came out of their trailer and started to make his way over to them. It was successful because Cheryl lit up like a light bulb and began going on about the plan, including the reception and the Wyrm, but Toni was still eyeing them as Jughead reached them and wrapped an arm around her. She smiled up at him and he placed a sweet kiss against the top of her head.

The rest of the afternoon and early evening was spent with Cheryl and Toni as they put on their dresses separately and showed Betty, and by extension Jughead. Halfway into it Toni finally stopped eyeing them suspiciously and Betty finally relaxed in the knowledge that she wasn't going to bring it up again. When they finally got home, even though it was still early Betty collapsed into the bed with a yawn as she dragged the covers up her body. It didn't take long for Jughead to slide in behind her and pull her close. It took her back to the first night she had invited him to share the bed, things had been drastically different then, even though it had only been two weeks. They had gone through a rough patch, but she understood now that the harsh words and actions from Jughead was just his way of trying to protect her. He still thought he wasn't good enough for her but she was going to spend the rest of her life proving to him that he was worth it all. She loved him and he loved her, and that was good enough for now. They'd grow and learn together and she couldn't wait for their life together.


	19. Epilogue

Six months after they said I love you to each other they made the choice to have a formal wedding for everyone, but mostly because the wanted to remember the wedding. It was technically a renewal of vows because they were already married but everyone was excited never the less. Cheryl and Toni had just received news that they'd be getting a new family member in two weeks and Veronica and Archie were glowing with the arrival of their new little bundle of joy. She had made her way into the world kicking and screaming a month early, but completely healthy. When they had traced the timeline back, it was discovered that she had been concieved on the trip to Vegas. That one trip had changed the course of four lives, and Betty couldn't help but believe in fate. They had named her Isobel Elizabeth Andrews, and Betty had been honored by the name, and even more honored when Archie and Veronica made her and Jughead godparents.

Veronica was still recovering from the birth and had opted out of being maid of honor but Betty totally understood and Cheryl made a great second choice, as she and Toni were dressed in matching gowns along with Polly, who had been trying to make amends lately and had finally settled down and gotten a place in Riverdale. It happened to be Betty's old apartment, which they hadn't ended up selling, but instead rented out to Polly. Their relationship had become more friendly and Betty had hope that they'd get back to where they started eventually. Jughead had been instrumental in helping her let go of the resentment she felt toward Polly, and learn to forgive her. JB had come down from NYU for the occasion and Betty had been hiding her giggles when she introduced her girlfriend to Jughead and FP, who had both been stunned. JB had grinned at their dumbstruck faces and nonchalantly asked what was for dinner as if she hadn't dropped a bomb on them.

All of that lead Betty to where she was at the moment, in her dressing room, in a white flowy gown. She hadn't wanted a traditional wedding dress with lace and frills or sequiens so she had picked out a soft white sundress that was off the shoulder and fell to her feet. Veronica had told her she looked like a snow nymph, whatever that meant as she had put her string of pearls around her neck as something burrowed. Something new was the dress, and something old was the clip holding her veil in place which Nana Rose had given to her via Cheryl. Something blue was her garter, insisted upon by Toni. The entire town had turned out for the wedding, the daughter of a prominent family in Riverdale marrying someone from the southside was apparently sensational. At that moment Archie peaked his head onto the door informing everyone that it was about to start.

Jughead had picked his own groomsman, and given that Veronica opted out, Archie had chosen to do the same, leaving Sweet Pea as his best man. The other groomsman consisted of Fangs and Kevin, who had stepped up when Archie had bowed out given that the other two were already groomsmen and had only needed to be shuffled around a bit. It hadn't been lost on Betty that during all the rehearsal and preparation that Sweet Pea and Polly had become friend and were on the fast track to being more, which she found strange but she wasn't going to rain on their parade, they were adults and could handle their own decisions. Everyone lined up and the procession started as the wedding march started up. When they were the only two left to walk Archie turned to her.

"Are you ready?" He asked. Betty took a deep breath.

"I'm ready." She said.

The doors to the chapel opened one last time and they stepped forward. Her hand clenched around her bouquet at the sight of so many people staring at her but Archie gave her a comforting squeeze, and her eyes left the people and moved down the aisle. Jughead was standing at the front and already looking at her, and their eyes met. She smiled and he returned it, the aisle didn't seem so long then and she reached him quickly. Archie kissed her on the cheek and handed her over to Jughead as he took his seat next to Veronica in the front row. Jughead squeezed her hand as they turned toward the minister. He said all the appropriate words before telling them to face one another which they did in unison, their hands joined between them.

"Betty, before you came into my life, I had lost hope. I felt trapped by my own decisions, but you taught me that I could be free. Ever since I was a kid, people have judged me for things outside of my control, but you never judged me for anything. You embraced every part of me and my life, even the dark parts, and you didn't think twice about it. We've lived in the same town since we were kids, but I still feel like finding you was fate, or maybe destiny. Whatever it was that brought you to me, I thank all the gods that I get to keep you. I don't want to sound to cliche, but it feels like we were always meant to end up here. You are the other half of my soul and I love you, I'll love you until the day I die and even after if the gods allow." He said and Betty felt the tears flowing down her face, and she saw that his eyes were shiny as well. She took a deep breath to calm herself so she could say her piece.

"Jug, you and I feels predestined, like I would find you in any universe, even across the stars. You have shown me the world in a way I never would have seen without you. You brought me back my family, and helped me learn to heal. You never judge me, and you're always there when I need you. You are the person I go to when I feel lost and you always help me find my way back. Growing up I always fantisized about my wedding, like all little girls do, and this wasn't what I pictured, but that makes it better. I learned that the fairy tale wedding wasn't important many years ago, what is important is love, and we have that in abundance. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Once, months ago, I asked you if you wanted to do something reckless and you agreed, which led us here. Love id the most reckless thing there is, and I'm glad that it was you. I love you with my entire soul, so I'll ask one more time, Do you want to do something Reckless?"

"Absolutely."


End file.
